Deadheart
by Stonewing
Summary: The most dangerous cat in Starclan has escaped and he wants revenge on Starclan. He will do anything to get it, to start he takes over the body of a Windclan kit. Meanwhile, a cat thought dead plots to bring a new era of righteousness to the clans.Violent
1. Prologue: A Warning

**Prologue: A Warning**

Stars glittered in the pelts of the former clan leaders and medicine cats. They surrounded a similarly starry pool, shuffling around and speaking to each other with a slightly nervous calm, awaiting one more cat's arrival. "It's not like Birchstar to be late," Commented one of them, a small, creamy brown she-cat named Dawnstar. "This can only spell trouble."

A dark ginger tom nodded in agreement. "I share your concern, Dawnstar." He paused. "I can think of no reason he would miss or forget the meetings that he constantly insisted upon." He turned his large head towards a gray tom with thick fur. "Hailstar, we've already been sitting here for a while. What do you think about this?"

Hailstar returned the other tom's gaze steadily and thought for a moment before responding. "I think we should just wait, Redstar. He couldn't be much longer." His voice wavered a little, but for the most part sounded confident. The other cats around him nodded in agreement. "But we can only wait so long." He took a breath. "We will start this council without him if we have to. If he is not here by moonhigh, we will begin."

There was silence for a few heartbeats before the steady sound of cats conversing began to emanate around the pool. However, shortly after they reached their peak, the whispers began to die down to the silence that had come before.

"Unfortunately, it seems this meeting will have to be started without Birchstar," Started Hailstar with a sigh. "Now, this meeting's first order of business is—"

A black and white tom with an abnormally long tail interrupted him. "Wait. I smell blood." His voice was shaking.

Redstar snorted. "Don't be ridiculous, Tallstar. We're in StarClan. There's no—"Redstar stopped himself and visibly shuddered. "I smell it too."

Quickly, the hackles of all the cats began to rise and fur was standing at its end. The smell of fear and confusion arose out of the hollow surrounding the pool. "It's coming closer!" called one of the cats.

Bursting through the surrounding bushes, a heavily bleeding cat collapsed in the middle of the crowd. The cats all stood there in shock, jaws agape and the whites of their eyes showing. The once powerful leader torn apart to a small and weak looking bloody heap was a shock. His blood was now leaking into the starry pool.

"Birchstar!" Dawnstar pelted towards the wounded leader, his light brown tabby pelt was nearly unrecognizable under all of the blood that was caking his pelt. "He needs a medicine cat!" she yowled at the crowd. She turned her attention back to the lithe shape at her paws. "Birchstar, who did this to you?" She was struggling to comprehend how this could happen.

Several medicine cats began to leave where they had been settled only moments before the calm had broken. "He's escaped! He's escaped!" He yowled feebly, choking on his own blood.

Dawnstar was hoping it was someone other than who she thought it was. "Who's escaped, Birchstar? Who did this to you?" She asked again panic beginning to rise within her chest.

Birchstar looked directly into the she-cat's eyes. "You know exactly who I'm talking about." He said between pants. "He said he won't stop—." A fresh fit of painful coughing overtook him temporarily. "He won't stop until we've all faded or joined him. His next victim will be the most innocent. Please help me…" He fainted as blood became a pool around him and the stars in his pelt began to leave.

"Oh, StarClan, help him!" She began to lick his pelt clean of the blood. "Yellowfang, Icewhisker, do something!" She cried out in disbelief of what was happening right in front of her.

Yellowfang swallowed grimly. "There's nothing we can do, he's already lost too much…blood." The last word hardly escaped her mouth. The thick-pelted gray she-cat pressed up against Dawnstar doing her best to comfort her fellow member of StarClan.

Gradually the cats of StarClan began to gather around the fading leader's body. Vigil was held well into the day, with no cat leaving his body until it had completely faded. Awkward silence gripped the shock and grief-ridden crowd of cats. "What do we do?" Nervously spoke up Icewhisker questioningly. For a while, silence was the only answer to the she-cat's question.

A cat on the outside with a crooked jaw was the first to respond. "We should warn the clans." A few murmurs or agreement rose up from the gathered.

"I disagree," A calm meow came from a blue-gray she-cat near Crookedstar. "If this was any indication, then he may simply have his followers do this to the messenger. I don't ever want to see something like this happen again." Bluestar's meow suddenly wasn't as composed as before. The other high-ranking cats began to realize what she was saying was true. "We must wait for the Three to realize what they must do."

Hailstar spoke for the first time in a long while. "But they're still so young," He pointed out. "And not even we know exactly how they're supposed to stop him." What he was pointing out was undeniable and only served to fuel anxiety. "Besides that, we don't even know who the third is or what their powers will be." He shook his head and sighed. "The future is truly grim."

Bluestar spoke again quietly. "All we can hope for is that some sort of warning gets to the clans quickly," Bluestar looked down, "although, even that may be too much to ask for."

* * *

A/N: Thank you to Jessica Hope Wishes for helping me with the story and editing for this chapter.

This chapter takes place around Sunrise and the next one will be a flashback of sorts to around the Sight.

And Review/Comment. It's what keeps me writing.


	2. Chapter 1: Part 1

**Chapter 1: Part 1**

"Stop licking me, my fur is fine!" The soon to be apprentice protested indignantly towards his mother, Sparrowpelt, a light brown tabby she-cat. Stonekit eventually managed to squirm away from his mother's grooming and ran right into his father, Leaftail, also a tabby. Stonekit was a tabby just like both of his parents, but he took more after his father, with dark brown fur and amber eyes. He was the only kit in his litter, but was very small, even more so than most WindClan cats.

Leaftail looked down at his kit amused. "Calm down and let your mother finish cleaning you up," He mewed as he looked Stonekit over. "I can still tell that you were playing with Heatherkit and Breezekit. You should be taking this more seriously. The clan will not think very highly of you when they see your fur all messed up."

The young tabby looked at his paws and shuffled them, and asked, "Really?" Then looked back up at his father and could see that he was completely serious. "Fine." He grumbled, displeased at the thought of having his pelt groomed more by his fussy mother as he walked back toward Sparrowpelt.

After what seemed like ages, Onestar stepped out of his den with his faithful deputy, Ashfoot. Stonekit stared in awe at the two highest-ranked cats in the clan as they headed towards the Big Stump, their muscles rippling under their pelts. Onestar powerfully jumped onto the remains of the once mighty tree, Ashfoot stayed where she was at the base of the clan's meeting spot. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Big Stump."

The cats of Windclan swiftly gathered around the Big Stump, murmuring about what they thought of the kits who were soon to be apprenticed. "We really need more apprentices, especially with ThunderClan always bringing in more rogues and kittypets." Nods and mews of agreements echoed around the clearing.

Stonekit felt a small nudge behind him from his parents and began to walk with his them to where the clan was gathering. Breezekit was there with Nightcloud and Heathertail was there with her mother and father.

Onestar yowled loudly, effectively quieting his clan mates and getting their attention focused on him. The brown tabby tom cleared his throat before starting. "Today is a good day for WindClan," He started. "We have three young kits, which have reached the age of six moons, and are therefore ready to become apprentices." He paused and looked at Breezekit. "Breezekit, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Breezepaw." The newly-named Breezepaw looked both pleased and disappointed and the same time for some reason, but Onestar didn't take notice, quickly announcing the apprentice's mentor. "Whitetail, you will be his mentor. I entrust you with passing down both your cleverness and kindness to your apprentice."

Whitetail nodded towards her leader. The new pair padded towards each and touched noses, sealing them as mentor and apprentice.

Onestar brought his eyes to Heatherkit. The she-cat's blue eyes seemed to brighten when the leader began to speak again. "Heatherkit, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Heatherpaw." Onestar turned his head to a dark gray tom. "Crowfeather, you will be mentoring Heatherpaw. Pass on your courage and strength to your apprentice."

Crowfeather nodded respectfully to his leader then touched noses with his new apprentice. They walked off to the side with the other new mentor and apprentice pair.

Finally, it would be Stonekit's turn to become an apprentice. He began to shuffle his paws nervously and his blood began to pound lightly in his ears as Onestar's gaze came to rest upon him. "Stonekit, until you are ready to receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Stonepaw." The leader looked around thoughtfully for a moment. "Owlwhisker," he began, "Your first apprentice tragically died of green cough." The clan was silent for a few heartbeats in respect of the fallen apprentice. "You did a good job training her and are ready to take on your second apprentice. I place my trust in you to pass down your knowledge in battle and leadership to Stonepaw."

Excitedly, Stonepaw made his way over to his new mentor, Owlwhisker, a light brown tabby tom. They touched noses and promptly joined the other cats that had been part of the ceremonies so they could listen to the rest of Onestar's announcements if he had any.

"That is all. You are dismissed back to your prior activities." Onestar yowled before hopping off of the big stump and heading back into his den.

Stonekit was finally on the path of becoming a Windclan warrior. His new bed would be in the apprentice's den and he would eventually get to go to a gathering! His training was about to start, and he couldn't wait.

(A Few Days Later)

Stonepaw felt a sharp prod on his side, waking him. "Wake up, it's time to train, Stonepaw."

The young apprentice stood up yawning. "Why do you always wake me up so early in the morning?" Stonepaw complained tiredly to his mentor as he stretched out his hind legs, then front. He began to clean his fur in case he had rolled in anything while he was sleeping in.

Owlwhisker rolled his eyes. "Because it teaches discipline and soon you'll start doing dawn patrols," He informed his apprentice. "Hurry up and eat some fresh-kill so we can get start on your training for today." The tom walked out of the apprentice's den.

Stonepaw followed his mentor out of the small den a few heartbeats later and grabbed a scrawny squirrel from the fresh-kill pile. He took large bites out of his meal and chewed quickly so his mentor would not get impatient with him. As soon as he finished, he padded up towards his mentor, who flicked his tail, and began trotting towards the camp's exit, signaling for the apprentice to follow.

"What are we doing today, Owlwhisker?" Stonepaw questioned, eagerly awaiting something besides learning the territory and how to find good moss for the elder's beds. The sun was shining and there was hardly a cloud in the air. "Am I going to be learning about the territory again?" He asked yawning, thinking he already knew the answer.

Owlwhisker stopped and surprised Stonepaw with what he said. "Actually, today, I thought I'd give you your first lesson on hunting." He informed his apprentice. "You should know that not everybody catches prey on their first try." The mentor mewed, trying to shake off any further expectations his apprentice may have had.

Happiness surged through Stonepaw when he heard he was going to get to hunt for the first time, completely ignoring the second part of his mentor's statement. "Yay! I'm going to catch a nice, big, juicy rabbit and Heatherpaw and Breezepaw will say that I'm a better apprentice than both of them." He imagined the looks on his denmate's faces when he dropped the rabbit on the fresh-kill pile.

Owlwhisker's whiskers twitched in amusement at the daydreaming apprentice. "Come on," The tom nudged the younger tabby off of his sitting position. "Daydreaming isn't going to catch that rabbit."

After a short while, they came across exactly what Stonepaw had been hoping for: a huge rabbit, one that could easily feed two full-grown warriors. "Don't move, Stonepaw," Warned Owlwhisker. "Get low to the ground." As soon as Stonepaw did his first command, the apprentice shot off after the rabbit, which started to sprint off less than a heartbeat after he had moved. "Wait!" Stonepaw continued to run after it, but after a while he began to tire out and the rabbit got away. Owlwhisker was able to catch up to his apprentice quickly. "You should have waited for me to tell you what to do," the warrior started sternly, shaking his head. "There are more steps for hunting a rabbit."

Stonepaw stood up and bowed his head. "I'm sorry, I'll listen next time."

"Come on, we need to bring back something." Owlwhisker began to trot at a steady pace further into the moorland to search for prey.

By the time they got back to camp, they had caught a total of three pieces of prey. Stonepaw had a squirrel in his jaws and his mentor had two mice. The two tabbies padded over to the fresh-kill pile and dropped their bounty, increasing the pile's size. Stonepaw sighed and began to head towards his den in disappointment before his mentor stopped him.

"Keep your chin up Stonepaw; it was your first time hunting." Owlwhisker meowed, trying to encourage his apprentice. "I didn't catch anything on my first time hunting. Not even Ashfoot caught prey on her first time."

Stonepaw slowly looked back up at his mentor. "Really? But you're such a good warrior and Ashfoot is the Deputy." His eyes were wide as he meowed.

The larger tabby nodded. "Yep. Just keep trying your hardest and paying attention. You'll start catching prey every time before you know it." He looked at the fresh-kill pile. "I see you were going to go to sleep without eating." His apprentice nodded before he continued. "You need to eat or else you'll do worse tomorrow, okay?"

The younger tabby's eyes brightened a little when he was told he could eat. "Okay." He grabbed the smallest piece of prey he could find. "Thank you, Owlwhisker!" He meowed through a mouth full of mouse as he ran off towards his nest.

(About a Half-Moon Later)

"Are you getting used to being woken up early yet?" Owlwhisker asked his apprentice both teasingly and seriously.

The two tabbies were padding along the open moorland not far from their camp. It was a somewhat wet morning after the previous night's drizzle and the sun had still not shown in a few days. "Sort of, I guess," mewed Stonepaw through a loud yawn.

Owlwhisker's ear flicked in amusement, "Good," He turned left before continuing. "Today we're going to try something besides hunting; battle training." Stonepaw's hunting skills had still not improved much since his first time hunting about a half-moon prior. "Hopefully a change of pace will be good for you." The older tom sounded sure that this would help Stonepaw's training.

"I'll do great! Just watch me!" Stonepaw's amber eyes brightened with excitement and eagerness. "I promise I'll do better at battle training than I did with hunting." His tail lashed momentarily, as he thought about his hunting ventures, but quickly returned to his previous giddy mood.

After walking a few more tree-lengths, the tabby pair reached their destination: the training hollow. It was a clearing with dirt in one part and some soft grass in another. It was surrounded by a few small trees and several bushes of various plants, some of them Stonepaw had seen Barkface giving to Gorsetail before and a little bit after Swallowkit, Sedgekit, Thistlekit, and Fernkit were born.

Owlwhisker came to a stop on the grassy side of the training hollow. "This is the training hollow," He started. "For now, I will be your teacher and opponent. Eventually, you will begin to spar with the other apprentices once you have learned enough. This is also the place that will teach you to fight and defend your clan and territory with honor." He looked down and his apprentice, who seemed to be amazed by what Owlwhisker had just described moments before. "Are you ready?"

After hesitating for a second, Stonepaw nodded vigorously. "Yes," was all he meowed.

"Excellent. We'll begin right now. Get on the opposite end as me." Stonepaw padded quickly over to the other half of the hollow's grassy side and sat down. "For the first moon or so of your training, we will be using the grassy sides of the training hollow, also known as the Beginner's Area." Stonepaw nodded, trying to take in every word, regardless of its importance. "There are only a few rules for battle training and practice: Keep your claws sheathed, don't take it too seriously, and stop when told."

Stonepaw would nod after each rule and muttered a couple "Uh-huh's" and "Okay's".

Owlwhisker stood up. "Now that that is out of the way, attack me," He meowed seriously.

"What? Attack you?" Stonepaw wasn't sure about this. "But you're my mentor." He reasoned.

"Yes, which is why you should listen to me and attack me," He reminded his apprentice. "Attack me!" Owlwhisker commanded.

With Owlwhisker's yowl, Stonepaw charged at his mentor and the jump into the air in an attempt to land on his back. Owlwhisker dodged to the right with and ease. "Again. But next time, jump at me when you're closer." The two cats got back into their original spots when Stonepaw charged again and jumped when he was closer. Owlwhisker ducked under Stonepaw as the apprentice flew past him into the borage leaves. "You can't do the same move repeatedly; your opponent will expect it."

Stonepaw rolled out of the bushes with leaves in his mouth. After spitting the leaves out, he spoke, "Um, I knew that." The dark brown tabby laughed nervously.

Owlwhisker mrrowed in laughter for a moment. "Set those leaves off to the side; I've seen Barkface give those leaves to queens before."

It was nearly sundown by the time they got back to camp. Stonepaw was aching all over and was surprised he could still move. "You look like you could go for a nice, long jog," commented Owlwhisker.

Stonepaw looked at him in shock. "I'm kidding, don't worry." They paused in the center of the camp. "You did fairly well today. I'll take those leaves to the medicine cat's den. Go get a piece of fresh-kill and get some sleep," Stonepaw flashed him a grateful look. "Because your first dawn patrol Is tomorrow morning." The apprentice's head slunk as he made his way towards his nest.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this is so dreadfully late. D: If you really want to know why it's so late, say so in a review and I will respond from there. The good news though is that this part of the chapter was about twice as long as the Prologue and the second part of this chapter should be even longer. The second part should be out within the week. Thanks again to Jessica Hope Wishes for helping!


	3. Chapter 1 Part 2

I took out some things so I could get this out quicker. I wanted to get it out much earlier, but things got in the way again. D:

Also, thank you to those who have reviewed, subscribed, and favorited. It means a lot to me.

Anyways, here you go:

* * *

**Chapter 1: Part 2**

(About Three Moons Later)

Finally, after moons of training, Stonepaw seemed to be figuring things out. His battle skills and hunting skills had improved dramatically and was almost doing as well as Heatherpaw and Breezepaw. He was bringing home pieces of prey nearly every time he went hunting and he could fight the other two apprentices and win nearly every other battle.

The sun was just beginning to breach the horizon as Owlwhisker led his apprentice and his patrol on the dawn patrol. Waking up early was another thing Stonepaw had finally accepted and was often awake before his mentor came to wake him. They had already cleared the Thunderclan border, remarking some boundary lines and were on their way to the Riverclan border.

"Two mouse tails says that the fish scent on our territory will be even worse today." muttered Weaselfur, a white and ginger-patched tom, his tail lashing in annoyed expectance. Lately, Riverclan scents had been going past the border and dead prey had been found in scattered areas.

Ashfoot turned her head momentarily to look at the younger warrior. "This is serious," she admonished. "They're stealing prey from us. Prey is always precious no matter what." Weaselfur nodded in defeat. "But Onestar is also getting fed up with all of this. He wants to put an end to it and will do so soon if it does not stop." Her meow sounded equally as annoyed as Weaselfur.

Oddly though, no scent markers had been placed by Riverclan recently and no Riverclan cat had been seen by any Windclan cats, creating somewhat of a mystery as to what could be happening in the other clan's territory.

By the time the group of small felines reached the Riverclan border, the sun was only slightly higher in the air, the lake and its surroundings still somewhat dark. Just as Weaselfur had predicted the fish scent of Riverclan had grown stronger on the Windclan side of the border. The cats' hackles began to raise and a couple in the patrol even hissed.

"Calm down," meowed Ashfoot. "We will tell Onestar and he will come up with a plan to deal with this." The deputy informed the patrol as she lashed her tail. "Let's hurry up and finish this patrol so we can get back to camp and report to Onestar." She said as dashed away along the border, her clan mates close on her heels.

When they got back to camp, Ashfoot quickly downed a vole and went to go see Onestar about the scent of Riverclan still on their territory. The rest of the cats also grabbed a piece of prey from the fresh-kill pile, but ate more slowly.

By the time the patrol had returned, it was nearly sun-high. Owlwhisker and Stonepaw were sitting together as mentor and apprentice. Owlwhisker spoke first, "Once we finish, we'll go battle train a little bit, then we'll come back here. Onestar will probably call a meeting by the end of the day." The tabby informed his apprentice as he finished up his rabbit.

Stonepaw nodded and quickly gulped down the few remaining bites of his squirrel. "I'm ready, Owlwhisker."

"I'm glad to see you're still eager to learn." The two tabbies dashed out of camp to the training hollow. Owlwhisker suspected a battle would be coming between Riverclan and Windclan and wanted his apprentice to be ready. "But today's lesson will be a review of everything you've learned so far." Owlwhisker told his apprentice.

Stonepaw couldn't help but be disappointed. "But I want to learn something new. How can I get better if I don't learn new things?" The apprentice questioned his mentor.

"You have to master everything. I need to make sure you know every single battle move just as well as the warrior code." Stonepaw didn't look very convinced by his mentor's mini-speech. "If you forget how to counter an opponent's move, where does that put you?" asked Owlwhisker.

Stonepaw looked down and the back at his mentor. "On the ground…" He mumbled, realizing Owlwhisker was right.

The larger of the two cats nodded. "That's right." He picked up his pace. "Now come on; we don't have much time." They started to run towards the training hollow so they could make it back in time if Onestar had anything to say about the dawn patrol's findings earlier that morning.

The clan had already gathered for a clan meeting around the Big Stump when Owlwhisker and Stonepaw got back to camp. Onestar noticed their arrival, "Nice of you two to join us." The leader commented slightly annoyed.

Owlwhisker dipped his head and Stonepaw's head quickly followed. "I apologize Onestar; we were at the training hollow for some review of battle moves."

Onestar nodded his head in approval. "Excellent," he started. "Do you think he is ready for his first battle?" He probed the mentor on his apprentice's progress.

Owlwhisker closed his eyes momentarily in thought. "I believe that Stonepaw could be of assistance to our clan in a battle, Onestar."

The leader took his eyes off of the tabby pair and began to spread his gaze around the clearing. "Crowfeather, is Heatherpaw ready to fight in her first battle?" Crowfeather simply nodded. "Very well, then," Onestar meowed. "Very well, then," he meowed. "Ashfoot, Owlwhisker, Stonepaw, Weaselfur, Crowfeather, and Heatherpaw will come with me to teach Riverclan a lesson about honor and what can happen when you steal prey from Windclan."

There appeared to be a general agreement with Onestar's decision to attack Riverclan, as most of the cats in the clan begun to murmur in agreement and flex their claws at the thought of dragging them across and enemy warrior's pelt.

"Silence!" Yowled Onestar. He waited until the clearing had completely quieted before he continued his speech. "We will leave just before Moonhigh for Riverclan territory. Get some rest, and then prepare to leave."

After seemingly moons of waiting, Owlwhisker came to fetch Stonepaw. "Come with me," he said as he poked his head into the apprentice's den. "We need to prepare for the raid." His mentor left with a flick of his tail.

Stonepaw stood up from his nest and quickly stretched, and went to follow his mentor. "What do we need to do to prepare?" He asked since it was going to be his first battle.

Owlwhisker looked down at the amber-eyed apprentice. "First we head to the medicine cat's den so we can take some strengthening herbs." He stated. "I should probably warn you ahead of time that they taste pretty foul." Stonepaw nodded. "Then we gather with the rest of the battle party and we follow Onestar's instructions." He concluded answering Stonepaw's question.

The two stood in a line of the cat's going with Onestar outside the Barkface's den. When they got to the front of the line Barkface left and quickly came back with two piles of odd-smelling herbs. Owlwhisker bent down, grabbed the leaves in his mouth and began to chew quickly. He swallowed a few moments later.

"I thought you said they tasted bad." Commented Stonepaw confused, looking at his mentor.

"They do," he started. "But not as much if you do it quickly and don't think about it." Stonepaw still looked unsure. "Trust me." Owlwhisker simply stated to assure his apprentice.

Stonepaw bent his head down and took a few cautious sniffs before taking the herbs into his mouth. They were the worst thing he had ever tasted; they were so bitter that he couldn't concentrate on anything else like his mentor had suggested he do. "Blech!" He shivered, the taste staying in his mouth as his mentor's whiskers twitched in amusement.

The two joined the rest of the group which had been waiting for them, Crowfeather, and Heatherpaw. The other mentor and apprentice pair had been right behind Stonepaw and Owlwhisker and Onestar began talking as soon as they had settled. "After discussing with Ashfoot, we decided to keep it simple." The brown-pelted leader began. "We will travel towards their camp, looking for a Riverclan patrol, and when we find it, we will attack. However, we will try to keep a fair distance from their camp in order to prevent all of Riverclan from joining in defense." He paused after he finished. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, Onestar!" They all shouted in near unison.

Onestar simply nodded, and with a flick of his tail, they were on their way to Riverclan territory. No cat really spoke much except for the apprentices asking their mentors about what to expect and many "What ifs?"

Just before the group reached the border, Onestar hissed for them to be silent, and they stayed silent until Onestar stopped. "We should be close to their camp by now." The leader sounded slightly perturbed. "Weaselfur, do you smell anything?"

Weaselfur was known for two things in Windclan: his feistiness and his nose. He was considered one of, if not, the best tracker in Windclan."Nothing." He replied confused. Onestar was about to open his mouth and speak when Weaselfur interrupted him, "Wait." He sniffed the air some more. "I can smell several. They're coming this way, but I don't think they know we're here yet." He informed the attack party.

"Follow me!"Owlwhisker hissed in Stonepaw's ear. Stonepaw watched as his mentor went into some bushes. He followed his mentor into the plant and they sat there in still silence until a few voices and pawsteps could be heard.

The footsteps quickly came to a stop. Some whispering could be heard and then one set of pawsteps sprinted off. "Do they know we're here?" Stonepaw asked quietly and anxiously.

Owlwhisker nodded and responded in an equally low voice. "It appears so. Onestar should be giving us the signal to attack at any moment."

Suddenly a ferocious snarl split the night air. Owlwhisker nudged his apprentice roughly before running out of the brush with Stonepaw on his heels.

Blood was pounding in his ears and his entire pelt was standing on end as he ran as fast as he could into the storm of hissing cats. Several cats were already missing fur and had blood running down their flanks and faces.

Stonepaw locked eyes with a mottled-gray tom, who looked like an apprentice. He immediately got into a battle stance, prepared to fight his apparent opponent. The grey tom just sat there and looked amused. "Are you serious?" Stonepaw didn't understand. "You aren't going to try and fight me are you?" He began to laugh. "You're hardly bigger than a kit!" The apprentice mocked Stonepaw and continued to laugh until Stonepaw jumped on his back, surprising the other tom. "Ugh!" He toppled over.

"I'll show you!" hissed Stonepaw angrily, clawing the Riverclan apprentice's back. The apprentice quickly rolled over and squished Stonepaw, driving the air from his lungs.

Before Stonepaw could hardly draw in a breath, the apprentice was once again on top of him, but was now on his paws. He began to claw Stonepaw's left flank and the warm blood began to seep out of his body and into his pelt and onto the formerly green grass. "This is what you get for coming on to Riverclan territory!" He hissed angrily.

Stonepaw quickly swatted at the apprentice's face with his right paw and landed a direct hit on his cheek, causing him to hiss in pain and giving Stonepaw the opportunity to start scratching his opponent's belly before being bitten hard on his right ear. He kicked up with his paws, knocking the other apprentice off of him a few tail-lengths away. Stonepaw recomposed himself and jumped at the grounded and winded apprentice only to be slammed to the ground by a mottled-gray she-cat that he had not seen before. After looking around for a heartbeat, Stonepaw realized there were several other new cats in the battle that he had not seen when the fighting had first started.

"Thanks, sister." Mewed Stonepaw's opponent thankfully as he stood up.

"No problem, Pebblepaw." She replied. "And don't worry, I won't tell anyone you almost lost to a kit." She finished jokingly before rushing back into the fray of flying fur.

Stonepaw tried to stand up, but before he could, that cat he now knew as Pebblepaw pounce on him for the second time. Sharp claws began to rake all the way down his right flank. It felt like burning nettles were puncturing his skin and being continuously dragged across his body in a merciless faction.

Eventually, the clawing stopped, but the pain stayed and the weight of Pebblepaw lifted off of his body. "This experience should teach you a few things, kit," He started. "First, never come on Riverclan territory again. Second, never pick a fight with me, Pebblepaw, the future leader of Riverclan. Now, get out of here before I have to claw you up anymore." The apprentice hissed one more time before running to fight some other cat with his sister.

Stonepaw began to drag himself across Riverclan territory towards where he thought Windclan was. The warm and sticky blood flowing out of the wounds on his sides were pounding and stinging in pain. He could hardly walk and it became increasingly more difficult to walk. It felt like he was gaining weight rapidly, especially in his paws and eyes. When the moorland finally came into Stonepaw's shrinking field of vision, his weary legs could no longer hold him up and he hit the ground with a hard thump before everything went black.

When he came to, he was in a soft moss bed and his sides and his right ear were hurting, but not as bad as before after—_the battle! _Suddenly he remembered fighting the other apprentice, Pebblepaw, and his sister aiding him when he was down. After that, all he could remember was trying to walk back to Windclan territory, seeing the moorland, and then waking up in this nest. Stonepaw looked around, sniffing the air. It was mostly dark, but there was a little bit of light poking around a corner. The scent of herbs was overpowering every other smell that he normally would have been able to make out. It seemed he had ended up in a medicine cat's den, hopefully Windclan's.

"Hello!"Came an excited voice, seemingly out of nowhere, causing Stonepaw to jump out of his nest. In the process, Stonepaw hissed as he felt the pain intensify on his sides. "Whoa!"The cat walked in front of Stonepaw, revealing himself as Barkface's new apprentice, Kestrelpaw. "Calm down. You'll tear off the cobwebs if you keep moving around and then you'll start bleeding everywhere." The mottled-gray apprentice informed him. Stonepaw couldn't help but notice that Kestrelpaw had a bit of a resemblance to Pebblepaw and his sister, but the medicine cat-in-training had a much friendlier voice.

Stonepaw realized just _breathing _hurt his wounds. "You scared me!" He said in between panting.

"Oh…Sorry." He sounded genuinely sorry. "Hold on, I'll be back in a heartbeat." Stonepaw nodded. Hardly a moon ago, Kestrelpaw had been made an apprentice. Even though the two spent a few moons in the nursery together, they never really talked since Stonepaw mostly played with Breezepaw and Heatherpaw. Kestrelpaw came back with the old, short-tailed tom, Barkface, in front of him.

"Good, you're awake, Stonepaw." Barkface sniffed around Stonepaw's, making him feel somewhat uncomfortable. Then Barkface jabbed the apprentice's ribs quickly, causing Stonepaw to hiss in pain.

"Ow! What was that for?" Stonepaw asked the aged tom angrily.

Barkface turned to his apprentice. "Two poppy seeds for his pain and to keep him relaxed, Kestrelpaw." Kestrelpaw repeated the order then went around a corner. "You've been asleep for nearly an entire day; it's just past sunrise in case you're wondering." He informed the apprentice.

One of Stonepaw's questions had been answered, but he had two others: "How did I get here and did we win the battle?" The answer to the first question was somewhat of a mystery to him and he was hopeful of how the second question was answered.

Kestrelpaw came back with two poppy seeds in his jaws and set them down in front of Stonepaw. "To answer your first question," began Barkface. "Owlwhisker saw you lying on Riverclan territory bleeding heavily and carried you here by himself. He came as fast as he could. For your second question, it sounds like the raid went well for the most part. Riverclan seems to have taken our warning and most of the patrol only suffered minor injuries and are carrying on with their regular activities." He finished answering Stonepaw's questions.

The small tabby apprentice was happy that the battle ended well for Windclan, but he couldn't help but feel small and sighed, when he realized he had another question. "How long am I going to be in here, Barkface?" Stonepaw really didn't want to lie there in the nest doing nothing, he wanted to go out with Owlwhisker and get better so he could be Pebblepaw next time they met.

Barkface thought for a second. "Based on the severity and deepness of your wounds, between a half and full moon."

"What?" Stonepaw's amber eyes opened widely in surprise. "But how will I become a warrior if I don't keep training?" He was hoping the decrepit cat wasn't serious.

Shaking his head, Barkface responded seriously. "I'm sorry, but you may become a warrior later than Breezepaw and Heatherpaw, if that's what you're worried about. But if you relax and don't move too much, you will heal much faster and you may get to do some light training before a half-moon goes by." Stonepaw visibly brightened. "Kestrelpaw, help me change the bandages." Barkface began to instruct to instruct the young gray apprentice one how to properly remove bandaging and what herbs to make a poultice with to apply to the wounds, with Kestrelpaw's voice repeating each and every step Barkface meowed. At first, when the poultice was applied to Stonepaw's wounds, it stung lightly, but quickly went away. By the time the two medicine cats had finished the cobweb replacement process, Stonepaw had fallen into a nice slumber.

* * *

A/N: I decided to split the first chapter into a third part, which will be the last part to this chapter.


	4. Chapter 1 Part 3

**Chapter 1 Part 3**

Stonepaw was finally free of the odd and bitter scent of the medicine den. His wounds were mostly healed and he was feeling great, being able to stretch his limbs after mostly sitting in a nest for more than half of a moon. So far, Barkface had cleared him to do everything an apprentice should be doing except for battle training, which would have to wait for at least a few more days so Stonepaw could make a complete recovery.

Although the amount of time Stonepaw spent in the medicine cat's den was relatively short, it was also an important time for both the young apprentice and the clan. Kestrelpaw had been a nearly constant presence and as a result, they ended up talking a lot and becoming good friends with each other. Owlwhisker would show up every now and then and check on how Stonepaw's healing process and Heatherpaw would come every few days and they would share tongues. However, Breezepaw never came once, and for the first time, Stonepaw realized that the other tom had become a bit less interested in his den mates.

Also during Stonepaw's stay away from the apprentice's den, an unfortunate incident happened. Barkface and Kestrelpaw had been collecting herbs when a huge dog had started to chase them. Because of his age, Barkface was unable to run very fast and had his apprentice run for help. After sprinting back towards camp, yowling for help, Kestrelpaw managed to get the attention of Ashfoot, who had been out of camp to fetch water for Gorsetail. The mottled-gray apprentice told deputy what was happening and she came running with Kestrelpaw leading her.

When they found Barkface, he was backed up against a tree. "Kestrelpaw, go get more warriors." ordered Ashfoot. "Go with him Barkface." The two medicine cats went to the camp and left Ashfoot to deal with the dog which was snarling and foaming at the mouth, an insane look in its eye. The dog charged and at the last moment, Ashfoot jumped out of the way, causing the dog to run into the tree that it had had Barkface backed into.

Growling, the dog turned around slowly and disoriented. Ashfoot took this as an opportunity to attack and sprang at the canine, hissing angrily. She brought her claws down on the dog's face, making it release a yelp of pain. The grey she-cat landed lightly on her paws and began to go circle the dog slowly and then quicker, trying to make it dizzy. When the deputy thought that she had another shot striking the dog she jumped, hoping to land on its back.

But before Ashfoot had realized what was happening, her neck was caught in the jaws of the beast, being swung mercilessly, as blood began gush out of her throat like a river. As the crimson began to pool around the monster's feet, several warriors, including Onestar, who was close friends with his deputy, had arrived.

The brown beast dropped his prey in its own blood when he noticed others had arrived. "Great StarClan," Onestar breathed, staring in shock with his clan mates. "Ashfoot…" He stood for a moment, frozen before snapping out of his trance. "Weaselfur, Nightcloud. Take her back to camp as quickly as possible!" The two picked up their deputy on their shoulders without a word, still stunned as they followed out Onestar's orders.

Quickly the four cats surrounded the dog. They took turns attacking the dog in pairs, leaving it unable to defend itself. The dog kept on fighting now matter how much it bled, how much pain in must have been in, all the while snarling and foaming at the mouth. Eventually, the dog collapsed in a heap, its blood mixing with that of Ashfoot's.

The group made their way back to camp in silence, Onestar at the head. When they got back, death could be smelled in the air; its pungent odor was unmistakable. The cats of WindClan had surrounded their once great deputy, now unmoving in the middle of the clearing.

Barkface was with body, cleaning it as Kestrelpaw observed somberly. The older medicine cat turned as Onestar approached him. "I'm sorry; she was gone before she made it through the barrier." Those were last words spoken until nearly Moonhigh, when Onestar was forced to announce his deputy.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather around the Big Stump," announced Onestar. Most cats simply turned their heads so they could both watch their leader and still be near the body of their former deputy. "Ashfoot was an incredible deputy," he started slowly, the pain audible in his voice. "She served her clan for many moons, doing everything in her power to maintain the security and well-being of her clan.  
Unfortunately, her life was cut short, protecting her clan mates from a vicious dog." He bowed his head, the rest of his clan joining him in mournful silence. "But now it is time to find someone who can try and fill the void she has left. I have thought hard about this. Someone loyal, intelligent, youthful, but most important of all, caring. I say these words before the body of Ashfoot, so that her spirit may hear and approve my choice. Owlwhisker will be the new deputy of WindClan." The leader finished as Owlwhisker looked up in surprise. Onestar beckoned him to come to the Big Stump. The clan cheered his name in subdued congratulations.

The new deputy jumped up to the Big Stump and faced the clan he was now supposed to help lead. "Thank you, Onestar." He started. "This comes to great surprise to me. I don't know if I'll be able to live up to Ashfoot's great name. I wish that I didn't have to take over in these circumstances, but I promised I will do everything to keep this clan in as good of a condition as I possibly can." He stepped off the tree stump before going back to the crowd surrounding the Ashfoot's body.

The clan mourned for the rest of the night, sharing tongues until nearly sunrise, before her body was taken to be buried in the outskirts of camp. In the following few days, the clan slowly resumed its normal activities and the grip of sorrow began to loosen.

(About a Moon Later)

"Good job today, Stonepaw." Meowed Owlwhisker as the two tabbies padded their way through the Windclan camp barrier. "But you still need to work on your balance, so that's what I'll train on for the next few days."

Stonepaw nodded. "Alright. Thank you, Owlwhisker." Owlwhisker flicked his tail and headed off towards the leader's den, probably to speak with Onestar, as what was now usual. Since his mentor had become deputy, it seemed like they had less time for training; it looked like Heatherpaw and Breezepaw were spending more time with their mentors, and appeared to know more hunting and battle techniques that him. Stonepaw shrugged and simply decided he was probably imagining it. He went over to the center of the camp, where the fresh-kill pile was.

A plump rabbit was on top and it looked like it would be warm and juicy, so he grabbed it and padded over to the apprentice's den. He was about to take a bit when a small mew interrupted him. "Um, can I have some of that?" The voice was small and high-pitched, coming from his side.

Stonepaw rotated his head to the right to see a bracken-colored she-cat. "Sure, Fernpaw. I couldn't have eaten this all by myself anyways." He meowed friendlily. Fernpaw shot him a grateful glance and took a small bite out of the hare. She had only been apprenticed a few days ago with her sisters and brother. She was the shyest of the four-kit litter, and this was Stonepaw's first time meeting her. "So, how do you like being an apprentice so far?" He asked in an attempt to start a conversation.

Fernpaw looked up nervously. "Well, um, I guess it's sort of fun, but also kind of hard, and Nightcloud makes me get up really early." She stuttered on half of her words, looking embarrassed.

"You'll get used to getting up early pretty soon, trust me." Stonepaw couldn't help but be amused by the nervous apprentice. "Calm down, I promise I don't bite." He was really sure why the she-cat was nervous, but figured it was nothing, so he let it go.

The two apprentices continued to eat the rabbit, talking to each other in between bites and after they had finished. By the time Owlwhisker came to get Stonepaw for the dusk patrol, Fernpaw had visibly relaxed and her voice was more fluid when she spoke. "Bye, Fernpaw!"

"Bye…" Fernpaw mewed so softly that Stonepaw's ears could barely pick it up. She quickly went to her nest to go to sleep.

Owlwhisker looked over at Stonepaw as they were going towards the ThunderClan border. "I saw you talking to Fernpaw," Stonepaw nodded. "What do you think of her?" He asked.

Stonepaw shrugged his shoulders. "She's pretty nice I guess." He said. "But she's kind of quiet."

(Three Moons Later)

Today was finally the day! Nearly eight moons ago he had started his training and after passing his final assessment the previous day, Stonepaw would have his warrior ceremony. He ended up staying up all night because of how excited he was. Heatherpaw and Breezepaw had already become Heathertail and Breezepelt, and had moved into the warrior's den over a moon ago, but now he would join them. As excited as he was, he had to admit that he would miss Fernpaw. They had become as good of friends as Stonepaw had become with Kestrelpaw.

When Stonepaw stepped out of the apprentice's den, maybe for the last time as an apprentice, it was barely dawn, there was only one other cat outside of their den besides him, Crowfeather, but he quickly disappeared back into the warrior's den. Snow was completely covering the ground and reached his elbows, although for most full-grown cats in didn't, but that wasn't on his mind at all today.

"You're up early, Stonepaw." The familiar she-cat's mew came from behind.

Stonepaw turned around. "I just can't wait. I'm going to be a _Warrior_ by the end of the day!" He was lashing his tail in excitement. "I feel like I've been training forever."

"I-I'm really happy for you," She said quietly. "But I'm going to miss you." Fernpaw was shuffling her paws anxiously.

Stonepaw smiled and laughed lightly. "Don't worry, I'll only be in a different den; it's not like I'm going on some sort of journey." By now the two were sitting side by side. Stonepaw put his tail on her shoulder to comfort her, causing her to flinch before relaxing, almost to the point of her leaning on his side.

The sun was on its way down when the time had finally come. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather around the Big Stump." called Onestar from his spot on top of the old dead tree. "Stonepaw, step forward." The tabby padded to the front of the clan; his parents, Sparrowflight and Leaftail looked on proudly. "Owlwhisker, are you satisfied that this apprentice is ready to become a warrior?" He checked the cat to his side.

Owlwhisker nodded. "Yes, he is ready, Onestar."

"I. Onestar, Leader of Windclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn." Stonepaw fought to stay still as his leader spoke the ceremonial words. "Stonepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend this clan, even at the cost of your life?"

The small cat nodded. "I do." He was surer of everything meant by those two words than anything else he had ever said before.

"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior name. Stonepaw, from now on, you will be known as Stoneclaw. WindClan welcomes you as a full warrior." Onestar finished the ceremony.

The clan began to yell Stoneclaw's new name in celebration, with the two loudest voices coming from Kestrelpaw, and Fernpaw, whom he had never heard so loud before. "Stoneclaw! Stoneclaw! Stoneclaw!" He couldn't help but smile.

When the noise had died down, Onestar spoke again."Now, as is tradition, you will keep a silent vigil for the rest of the night."

_I'm a Warrior!_

* * *

Next update won't be for a while. Need to get some stuff sorted out.

Thanks to Jessica Hope Wishes for editing this chapter and to all those who reviewed/subscribed/favorited.

Spread the word of this fic if you enjoyed it!


	5. Chapter 2

Sorry this took so long. I've been pretty busy lately, and my room is still really hot. But, fear not! For this is the longest chapter I have ever written (even before all the author notes & Allegiances).

This chapter takes place a little less than a moon before TFA.

Allegiances:

Windclan

Leader  
Onestar - Brown tabby tom

Deputy  
Owlwhisker - light brown tabby tom  
Apprentice, Whiskerpaw

Medicine Cat  
Kestrelflight - mottled gray tom

Warriors  
Crowfeather - dark gray tom  
Whitetail - small white she-cat  
Nightcloud - black she-cat  
Gorsetail - very pale gray-and-white tom with blue eyes  
Weaselfur - ginger tom with white paws  
Apprentice, Rainpaw  
Harespring - brown-and-white tom  
Leaftail - dark tabby tom with amber eyes  
Antpelt - brown tom with one black ear  
Emberfoot - gray tom with two dark paws  
Heathertail - light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes  
Apprentice, Furzepaw  
Breezepelt - black tom  
Apprentice, Boulderpaw  
Sedgewhisker - light brown tabby she-cat  
Sunstrike - tortoiseshell she-cat with large white mark on her forehead  
Stoneclaw - Brown tabby tom with amber eyes  
Apprentice, Cedarpaw  
Ferntail - Golden brown she-cat with amber eyes

Apprentices  
Whiskerpaw - light brown tom  
Furzepaw - gray-and-white she-cat  
Boulderpaw - Large pale gray tom  
Cedarpaw - grey tom with amber eyes and white underbelly  
Rainpaw - Spotted-grey she-cat with green eyes

Queens  
Dewspots - Dark gray she-cat

Elders  
Webfoot - dark gray tabby tom  
Tornear - tabby tom

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Cedarpaw and his sister, Rainpaw, had just been made apprentices moments before and were now standing with their mentors. The sun was high and bright in the sky, and each cat could feel its full strength. The clan was cheering their names and their parents, Emberfoot and Dewspots, were looking at their kits with joy.

Once the cheering had died down, Onestar dismissed the clan to their duties. The two newly-made apprentices looked up at their mentors. "What are we going to do first?" Asked Cedarpaw excitedly, hoping that Stoneclaw would say battle training.

Stoneclaw's eyes got a little bigger and he began to stutter. "I, uh, think we should, um—"

"How about you and your sister go talk to your new den mates and get some advice from them about being an apprentice," interrupted Weaselfur calmly. "After that go to sleep and we'll wake you up at night when it is cooler." Stoneclaw nodded in agreement before the two older cats walked off together, Weaselfur apparently giving a lecture to the first-time mentor.

Rainpaw spotted Furzepaw and quickly trotted over to him with Cedarpaw not far behind. "Hello, Furzepaw!" she greeted excitedly.

"Hey, Rainpaw and Cedarpaw," the she-cat greeted pleasantly, "How do you two feel right now?"

Rainpaw's eyes were glowing. "Excited and a bit thirsty," the dappled-grey she-cat paused for a moment in thought. "But mostly excited!" she concluded. Cedarpaw nodded in agreement.

Whiskers twitching in amusement, Furzepaw responded. "That's good to hear, but shouldn't you be out learning the territory?" she asked.

So that's what he'd be doing first. Cedarpaw couldn't help but be disappointed and it leaked into his voice, "No, Weaselfur said we would go out at night when it isn't as hot."

Furzepaw nodded. "That makes sense, I guess." She looked behind her. "Well, I supposed I should show the apprentice's den, even if there isn't much to show." The light-grey cat led them to what looked like a bramble bush that just had most of the inside cleared out. "Pretty much it is just a bramble bush that had a lot of its branches taken out. We really only sleep in here unless it's cold or raining." Furzepaw flicked her tail towards a couple piles of moss. "My mentor had me go collect this moss for you two. It will be where you sleep once you shape your nests."

"Thank you," mewed Rainpaw, her brother echoing her. "Weaselfur also said that we should ask you, Boulderpaw, and Whiskerpaw for advice." She remembered.

"Alright. I'll try to be as much help as I can, but Boulderpaw and I have only been apprentices for a moon, Whiskerpaw would be better for this, but he's out training with Boulderpaw." Furzepaw informed them of where the other two apprentices were before beginning to tell them about everything that she knew about being an apprentice. She finished quickly and told Rainpaw and Cedarpaw to talk to Whiskerpaw sometime if they wanted to try talking to him.

The brother and sister made their nests quickly, hopped into them, and fell asleep. They were awoken by their mentors. The sky was black except for the stars and the moon which had not yet reached its peak. "Get something to eat, and then we'll go to the lake for a drink and we'll explore the territory from there." Stoneclaw ordered, and then left. The two apprentices did as they were told.

As the group of cats moved around the territory, Cedarpaw took in every kind of sensory information he could, just like Furzepaw had told him and his sister. Speaking of Rainpaw, she was looking at everything in great wonder and commenting on how great the territory looked outside of camp. However, it seemed they had left camp just as soon as they had reached it, even though the sun was almost visible now. Stoneclaw and Weaselfur ordered the two to sleep until sun-high, when they would be learning the territory again.

Cedarpaw slept fairly deeply for a while before waking up in a moorland that looked a little bit like Windclan's territory around the lake. There was no one in sight, so he decided he would look around for a while. After running for in a random direction for a little bit, he came across a huge gorge, so deep, he couldn't even see the bottom of it. Since there was nothing here he decided to go back the way he came.

It took a long time, but he finally found something interesting: A large clearing with four huge trees surrounding it and a giant rock that you could see every part of clearing from and even a bit beyond. His mouth hung open in amazement at the sight in front of him.

"Incredible, isn't it?" A voice boomed behind Cedarpaw, causing him to jump in panic.

Turning around quickly, hackles raised and fur on end, Cedarpaw faced whoever it was that scared him. "Who are you?" He did his best to sound strong and angry, even though he was scared out of his mind.

The black cat's whiskers twitched in amusement. "Calm down, young one. I have no intentions of hurting you." His amber eyes looked down on him with what looked like excitement. Cedarpaw relaxed after a few seconds. "Don't worry, just sit." The apprentice did what he was told since the cat sounded kind. "Good. Now, I may as well introduce myself to you, Cedarpaw. I am Bravestar, a former Windclan deputy from long before any cat in your clan could remember."

Cedarpaw just stared back blankly. "You're from Starclan? But I though you only visited leaders and medicine cats." The confusion was evident in his voice.

Bravestar nodded. "That's true, in most cases. But you're not most cases," He started. "You see, some cats have a greater destiny than others. You are one of those cats." He looked so sure of what he was saying that Cedarpaw couldn't help but believe him.

"But why me?" Cedarpaw turned his head to the side when he asked the question.

"Because those of us in Starclan have looked into your soul and believe that you will one day, when the time comes, have the traits to lead the clans over the force of evil." He informed the apprentice who was gaping in shock. "You won't have to do it all by yourself; Starclan will help you." Cedarpaw looked a little reassured by the statement, but still looked doubtful. "In order to help you, I will be sending parts of myself, my knowledge, and my memories into you." He told the young apprentice.

The young, light-grey tom seemed somewhat amazed. "You're going to be sending your memories into me? Does that mean I'll be a great warrior?" He looked excited beyond belief. "But how?"

"Starclan is very powerful, and that is all you need to know for now." Mewed Bravestar. "I should warn you, though, this may hurt, young Cedarpaw." This time the former leader's voice was serious.

Cedarpaw's eyes seemed to grow for a second. "It will?" he asked anxiously, but continued before Bravestar could answer. "But that doesn't matter; I'll do anything to help Starclan." The young cat's face was that of stone: sure and uncompromising.

"Alright, then, here we go." Bravestar closed his eyes. Blue mist slowly began to drain out of his body, gathering in a shining sphere above his head.

Cedarpaw couldn't help but gaze in amazement at the orb as it floated towards him. Then, it touched his head. "Aaagh!" The pain was extremely hot, then cold, and then it was over, as soon as it had started. He tried to speak, but he was suddenly incredibly tired, even though his heart was beating like mad and blood was pulsing through his ears.

The former leader padded his way to Cedarpaw and put his tail on his shoulder. "You did well, Cedarpaw. But next time it will last longer." The small cat beneath him looked up in shock. "It is necessary; but it will still be easier next time." Cedarpaw was still looking at Bravestar in surprise. "I also hope you understand that nothing that happened here can leave here." The grey tom just grunted and the heavy breaths of sleep could be heard from him only heartbeats later.

A big grin spread across his face as he walked away from the apprentice. "Apprentices are so mouse-brained." The first step of his plan was now in place.

(About a Moon Later)

Cedarpaw followed his mentor, his sister and her mentor as the sun began to set. They were going to the Thunderclan border when Owlwhisker's brown ears pricked. He motioned for the cats behind him to stay calm, be quiet and follow him.

A horrible smelling scent, much like crow-food, washed over the patrol and Cedarpaw wrinkled his nose. The putrid scent was none other than fox; there was more than one.

Thunderclan had warned the other three Clans about foxes, but Windclan paid no heed, because the forest-dwelling Clan loved getting attention. It must've been the kitty-pet blood in them.

Cedarpaw realized he had stopped walking and was fantasizing about life without Thunderclan when a loud caterwaul split his ears. It was Rainpaw.

The loyal brother began to run towards where he scented the fear scent of his sister. Somehow, two foxes had cornered her. Even though Stoneclaw and Weaselfur were around the foxes , the beasts were not paying to them, probably since they were focused on the easiest meal more than anything. "Rainpaw!" shouted Cedarpaw, causing the two drooling foxes to look towards the other apprentice, hunger visible in their dark eyes.

With the foxes temporarily distracted, Weaselfur and Stoneclaw took their chances at the sudden opening and jumped on their backs and started clawing, but were quickly thrown off. "Go get more warriors!" Stoneclaw shouted at the young apprentices, dodging one of the fox's lunges less than a heartbeat later.

Without a word, Rainpaw and her brother took off at full flight. However, before long Rainpaw was falling behind, panting heavily, and started to stumble.

Cedarpaw looked back at his sister, who was struggling to keep up with him. "Rainpaw, are you okay?" he slowed down to her pace.

Coming to a stop, Rainpaw nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," she breathed out. "I need to take a small break. Just hurry back to camp, alright?" She mewed between pants. "I'll be there soon."

Taking a closer look at her, Cedarpaw licked her head and took off towards his destination. Before long, he burst through the camp entrance, yowling to get attention, "Help! Stoneclaw and Weaselfur are fighting two foxes by themselves near the Twolegplace!"

Owlwhisker heard him and quickly gathered a couple of warriors. "Heathertail, Antpelt, come with me." The trio was out of the camp in an instant.

Cedarpaw went to lie down in one of the few shady spots in the camp to wait for his sister. When she had not come back after a short time, he went to Kestrelflight's den. "Kestrelflight?" He called.

"Hmm?" A mottled-gray tom poked his head around a corner. "What is it Cedarpaw?"

"I think something might be wrong with Rainpaw," the grey apprentice meowed nervously. "On the way back, she stopped and told me that she needed a short break and would be back to camp quickly."

The rest of the medicine cat's body came around the corner. "Bring me to where you last saw her," He said through a mouth full of moss that Cedarpaw had just now noticed. "Fast."

Cedarpaw nodded and ran towards where he had left his sister to rest. At the speed they were going, they had reached her in no time. "Rainpaw, are you okay?" he asked scared.

The spotted-grey she-cat looked deflated, and there was vomit in front of her. "Yeah, I'm—" a fit of coughing overtook her and she started to vomit and dry-heave, her eyes bulging. "Where am I?" she looked around with her eyes half-closed.

Kestrelflight's eyes were wide, he knew this wasn't good. "Here, Rainpaw drink from here." He set some moss down in front of her.

Rainpaw's head simply turned to the side. "Why would I drink from a squirrel's tail?" she looked up to the medicine cat bewildered.

"What's wrong with her?" Cedarpaw brought his frightened gaze to Kestrelflight as well.

The medicine cat shook his head. "This is bad, the heat is getting to her." Kestrelflight had to pause for a second to calm himself down and think. "Okay, Cedarpaw, go find moss and soak it into the lake. Make sure you get something to drink to, so this doesn't happen to you. I'll take her back to camp, where there's a little bit of water and herbs I can give her."

Following Kestrelflight's orders, Cedarpaw made a mad dash to the lake and back as quick as he could, all of his thoughts and energy concentrated on his sister. When he got back, the medicine cat was sitting by his sister in the den pacing back and forth. "Thank you, Cedarpaw," he sighed in slight relief. "Now give it to her."

"Why do I have to lick more squirrel tails?" complained Rainpaw. "And when did you get here, Cedarpaw? And when did it become night?" She stopped when the moss was pushed into her face and started to lick.

Cedarpaw looked up at the medicine cat. "Will she be alright?" his voice was tinged with fear.

"I…" Kestrelflight opened his mouth to speak, but closed it. Unsure, he responded. "I don't know." After a few moments of silence, he mewed again. "Go get your mother and father so I can explain what happened."

The young apprentice dashed off, and was back with Dewspots and Emberfoot within moments. "Where is our daughter?" Dewspots nearly wailed.

"Shh!" hissed Kestrelflight. "She's sleeping right now, and she'll need all the sleep she can get for the next few days." Somehow Rainpaw had managed to fall asleep between the time her brother had left and come back with their parents. Dewspots closed her mouth. "What has happened to Rainpaw is very rare. It happens when a cat is out in the heat for a long time without getting anything to drink. The only thing that can be done to help her get better is by letting her rest and drink plenty of water."

Emberfoot looked nervous. "Will it affect her ability to hunt and fight?" he asked.

Shaking his head, the other full-grown tom responded, "It shouldn't," he started, "But that's if she survives." Kestrelflight finished grimly.

Dewspots nearly jumped out of her fur. "What do you mean _if_ she survives?" she hissed angrily.

"I'm sorry, but she had already shown dangerous signs when I brought her here," The mottled-grey tom started sadly. "And illnesses like this can be especially dangerous to young cats like herself." Dewspots looked heartbroken. "I'll be watching her all night, so don't worry. Now, get out of her so Rainpaw can get her rest." Kestrelflight shooed the three out his den and went back to his own business and Dewspots walked off with Cedarpaw's and Emberfoot's tails on her shoulders moaning about her kit.

After two nights, Rainpaw seemed to be making a steady recovery. She still felt a little bit weak, but could for the most part jump and run around like an apprentice normally would. Kestrelflight said that the next day, she could return to doing her warrior training.

Cedarpaw decided he would welcome his sister back to being an apprentice by rousing her to a bright, sunny morning with a juicy rabbit in his jaws. "Good morning, Rainpaw!" he greeted cheerfully through a mouthful of rabbit, but there was no answer. "Rainpaw?" he nosed his sister.

Her body was cold.

(About Four Moons Later)

Tonight was Cedarfang's warrior vigil. Even though he had started a moon after Furzetail and Bouldernose, with help from Bravestar, he was able to far exceed anyone's expectations and had quickly become popular in Windclan. His secret mentor also helped him move on from the loss of his sister by pushing him to be a better warrior, and saying that Rainpaw would not have wanted Cedarfang to give up.

Unfortunately, Rainpaw had not been the only one to lose their life during the drought. Webfoot, the clan's oldest elder, had died, too, but Kestrelflight had said it was from old age more than anything. Two warriors had also died.

The foxes returned only a few days later, their wounds still unhealed from their previous encounter with the Windclan cats. Sunstrike had received a few small cuts on her side that had eventually turned into incurable infections that festered from the heat. About a moon after that, Antpelt died. It was assumed that he had died from a disease from the rotten prey he had accidentally swallowed a bite from.

But those were the furthest things from Cedarfang's mind. Once he was finished with his silent vigil, Bravestar would send the last of his memories into his body and then he would be the best warrior in any clan.

Time seemed to crawl by as he padded his way across Windclan territory separate from Bouldernose and Furzetail. His paws were tingling in excitement and when the sun finally cracked the sky, Cedarfang breathed a sigh of relief. He would have ran back, but he didn't want to do anything that might seem suspicious.

When Cedarfang got back to camp, he headed straight to his new den. However, on the way there, he was stopped. He turned himself to the voice.

It was Sedgewhisker. "Hey, Cedarfang." She mewed. "I was wondering—"

"Sorry," Cedarfang broke in with a yawn. "I'm really tired. I'll be happy to talk to you when I wake up." He was hoping she would drop it so he could just get on with his dreaming.

Sedgewhisker nodded slowly. "Okay, you did just do your vigil." She looked a bit more cheery now. "See you around, then." She walked off.

"Yeah, thanks," responded the grey tom quickly before hopping into his nest and closing his eyes.

When he next opened his eyes, Cedarfang was back in the area of the Old Forest named Fourtrees. Bravestar had shown him around the forest telling him the names of some of the places and the names of some of the more important leaders and medicine cats in clan history. "Bravestar, are you here?" he called into the night. There was a sudden presence behind him, but he did not give any hints as to knowing it was there. Cedarfang simply walked forward calmly looking nearly straight ahead and suddenly whipped around, claws sheathed, of course, knowing who it was.

"You've clearly practiced since last moon, Cedarfang," commented Bravestar. "I'm proud to have trained you."

For the first time, Cedarfang noticed that his other mentor had become lighter. He could sort of see through him into the forest. "Why can I see through you?" he ask cautiously.

Bravestar nodded. "So you've noticed." The former leader sounded sad. "Unfortunately, in order to do this, I've had to give up some of my remaining spirit. As a result, I will not be able to physically join you in battle when the time comes, for I will have grown to weak by then."

"I see…" mewed Cedarfang lowly. In the time they had spent together, he had grown close to Bravestar. "Thank you for everything you've done for me, Bravestar."

"And thank you to you, Cedarfang, for everything you will do in the future." They stood in silence for a bit. "Are you ready for the final transfer, Cedarfang?" he asked. The warrior across from him merely nodded and grunted.

Cedarfang closed his eyes, knowing without being told that this would be the most painful and long-lasting transfer he would ever have to go through. However, because his eyes were closed, he didn't see that Bravestar was literally walking into his body. "Aaagh!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, which right now felt as if he was breathing in fire. Not only were his lungs on fire, so were his bones and muscles, and the fire was even flowing through his veins. None of the other transfers had been this painful. He was becoming hotter than fire when he suddenly became colder than ice. Then everything inside his belt began to grown, or maybe his pelt was shrinking, but he was in too much pain to bother finding out which.

Soon he was back to normal size, however, and he gradually warmed up back to a normal temperature. Cedarfang collapsed on the ground, panting. He opened his eyes, "_That was hard,_" after a few moments of lying there, he realized that Bravestar had disappeared. "_Where did you go, Bravestar?_"

"I'm right here." Boomed the voice Cedarfang had been looking for, seemingly echoing in his head.

"_Where_?" asked the grey tom. He tried to stand up couldn't. He tried to move the rest of himself but had no luck. "_Why can't I move_?" Cedarfang was starting to get scared. "_Bravestar!_"

Bravestar's laughed loudly. "Hahahaha! Stupid, pathetic clan cat." The tom sneered viciously and loosed another laugh.

"_Wh-what? I don't understand, Bravestar._" Cedarfang's voice began to falter. "_What do you mean?_"

"It's simple, really," began Bravestar. "I tricked you. I'm not really from Starclan. Those fools banished me to a horrible place long ago, but you're stupidity has given me my chance to take my revenge on them and all those who support them." Cedarfang tried to say something, but he was quickly cut off. "And stop calling me Bravestar, my name is Deadheart."

Cedarfang was nearly speechless. "_What did you do to be punished by Starclan?_"he sobbed."_And why me? Why did you have to do this to me?_"

Another laugh came from Deadheart. "I chose you because you were the most convenient kit I would be able to take over. It's as simple as that." He said. "And regarding your other question, I'll tell you some other time. Also, don't say anything else that will annoy me."

The last part didn't really need to be said. Cedarfang was quiet, too overtaken with grief over giving up his life to the monster that now inhabited his body.

Deadheart closed his eyes and opened them moments later to the Windclan camp. He was ready to begin his new life. Standing up and stretching, he spotted Breezepelt. He shot a look towards the black tom. At first the tom seemed surprised, but returned the gaze before walking off.

* * *

Thank you to Jessica Hope Wishes for writing part of this chapter (the very beginning of the middle part) and helping me get past my writer's block. She also wrote most of the allegiances (I had to make some edits due to story line changes.)

Thank you for reading. Chapters just might come out quicker if there is more reviews/subcriptions/favorites! :D


	6. Chapter 3

To those of you who read this, there's really nothing I can say that makes up for not posting in so long. I'm sorry for not updating and I'll do better in the future. Also, if there are any mistakes, I'm sorry (especially if any of the Windclan cats call Deadheart by his real name instead of Cedarheart like theyre supposed to).

Allegiances:

Windclan

Leader  
Onestar - Brown tabby tom

Deputy  
Owlwhisker - light brown tabby tom

Medicine Cat  
Kestrelflight - mottled gray tom

Warriors  
Crowfeather - dark gray tom  
Nightcloud - black she-cat  
Apprentice, Volepaw  
Gorsetail - very pale gray-and-white tom with blue eyes  
Weaselfur - ginger tom with white paws  
Harespring - brown-and-white tom  
Leaftail - dark tabby tom with amber eyes  
Emberfoot - gray tom with two dark paws  
Heathertail - light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes  
Breezepelt - black tom  
Sedgewhisker - light brown tabby she-cat  
Dewspots - Dark gray she-cat  
Stoneclaw - Brown tabby tom with amber eyes  
Ferntail - Golden brown she-cat with amber eyes  
Cedarfang - grey tom with amber eyes and white underbelly  
Apprentice, Petalpaw  
Furzetail - gray-and-white she-cat  
Bouldernose - Large pale gray tom  
Apprentices  
Petalpaw - White she-cat with amber eyes  
Volepaw - Grey tom with green eyes  
Queens  
Whitetail - small white she-cat  
Elders  
Tornear - tabby tom

Thunderclan

Leader  
Firestar

Deputy  
Brackenfur

Shadowclan

Leader  
Blackstar

Deputy  
Rowanclaw

Riverclan

Leader  
Reedstar

Deputy  
Minnowtail

**Chapter 3**

Snow blanketed the ground when Deadheart woke up in the morning as it had for nearly the past moon. He stretched his limbs slowly and carefully in order to avoid bothering any of his clanmates. Taking a pawstep forward to get a feel for the snow, he put another out quickly and began to jog with a bounce in order to keep from sinking into the cold powder. After bounding over to the fresh-kill pile, he took a mouse that had probably been even hungrier than him and his clanmates and finished after only a few moments.

Barely a moon ago, he had finished taking over the body of the young Cedarfang. It had been extremely easy for Deadheart to trick the apprentice, but he wasn't complaining, it was rather fun as well.

Cedarfang was almost constantly moaning and crying to let him out for quite a while. But lately, especially the last few days, he had become much quieter, making it much easier to hear himself think.

The plan was going at a slow, but steady pace so far, as he was gaining the trust of his new clanmates and all the while his servants in the Dark Forest were recruiting living clan cats, including Ivypool, the sister of one of the Three.

Deadheart was used to getting up early, but had nothing to do today. For some reason, Onestar had moved him from the dawn patrol to the Moonhigh patrol for today, leaving him to mostly just walk around camp and occasionally talk to some of his "friends" in the clan when they woke up as well. He had been talking to Bouldernose at the moment when suddenly Onestar's yowl sounded from the Big Stump, "All cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Big Stump."

The clan began to gather around the remains of what was once a mighty tree. As the cats settled down, a few groans and hisses could be heard from the cats that had begun to sink into the snow, which was a disadvantage of being a small Windclan cat.

"By naming apprentices, we show that Windclan will survive and remain strong." Onestar looked towards where a white she-cat and a dark-brown tom were standing over two kits. One of them was a grey tom who appeared to be ready to burst, while the other, a white she-cat, was staring at the ground and shuffling her paws. He went on with the apprentice ceremony. "From this moment on, until he has earned his warrior name, this apprentice will be known as Volepaw." He searched the clearing quickly before speaking again. The brown she-cat had tried to follow his gaze. "Nightcloud, you are now ready to take on an apprentice. You will be mentor to Volepaw. Nightcloud, you have shown yourself to be a warrior of kindness and patience. I'm sure you will pass on all you know to this apprentice." The newly made mentor and apprentice touched noses and settled near the right side of the crowd.

When the two cats were in their spots, Onestar looked over to Volepaw's sister. "From this moment on, until she has earned her warrior name, this apprentice will be known as Petalpaw." He once again checked the clearing for a suitable mentor. Petalpaw didn't follow his gaze as her sister had. What Onestar said next shocked him. "Cedarfang, you are now ready to take on an apprentice. You will be mentor to Petalpaw. Cedarfang, you have shown yourself to be a warrior of skill and strength," Was that really the best he could come up with? Annoyance pricked is pelt for a moment, but he didn't show it. "And skill. I'm sure you will pass on all you know to this apprentice." Deadheart padded up to his new apprentice and guided her to the opposite side of his sister. "This clan meeting is over." Onestar concluded then headed back towards his den.

Deadheart glanced to his former mentor, Stoneclaw; he had a proud look on his face, now that his former apprentice had an apprentice of his own so quickly. Fool. Standing beside him was Ferntail, but Stoneclaw seemed to take no notice for some reason.

Deadheart turned to look back at his apprentice, Petalpaw, who was looking at him with unsure eyes. Well, I better show her around the territory. "I'm going to show you around the territory now; we'll start by the Thunderclan border." He got up and signaled with his tail for her to follow. When he didn't here Petalpaw talking, he paused to make sure she was following. When he saw she was following, he continued on pleasantly surprised. Maybe this won't be so bad…

(Moonrise)

After a long day of traveling across Windclan territory with Nightcloud and Volepaw, Deadheart brought his apprentice, Petalpaw back to camp and over to the fresh-kill pile. Grabbing a squirrel, he settled down a little ways away from the apprentice's den and dropped the mouse at Petalpaw's feet. "Eat up, you have earned it." Deadheart meowed softly to her. They both took a bite out of the small piece of prey.

They had spent nearly all day looking at Windclan's territory, during most of which Volepaw had been talking except for when either Nightcloud or himself had been explaining the significance of certain landmarks. However, Petalpaw was the complete opposite; he had barely gotten more than peep out of her the entire time. "Why don't you talk as much as your brother? He talks faster than I can run!" He joked, hoping that it would lighten the mood and get her to open up a bit.

Petalpaw's reaction however, was much different than what he had expected. She looked up to her mentor as if she had shrunk into a mouse and was about to be caught by him. "Am I supposed to talk a lot?" She looked at the ground, but tilted her head up slightly when she mewed softly. "Am I in trouble?" The look in her eye changed to more of pleading than before.

Deadheart rolled his eyes, both annoyed and amused. "You're not in trouble, you haven't done anything wrong. Just relax, okay?" When she nodded he shook his head for a moment before continuing. "Tonight is your first night in the apprentice's den," she looked worried. "You'll be fine; I mean, it's not like there are dogs on the moorland waiting for you to go to sleep so they can snatch you from your nest…Or maybe there are." Petalpaw started to look panicked again and look at her surroundings anxiously. "I'm not serious," He meowed trying to calm her down and it seemed to work a little. "Just go get some sleep; I'm going on a patrol." I guess I'm going to have to bring to the Dark Forest the same way Hawkfrost did with Ivypool, he sighed inwardly.

Looking around the camp he spotted the cats he was to patrol with getting in a few small bites of prey before they left. "Breezepelt, are you almost ready to go?" he called out to the black tom, who was alone as usual. The only response was a quick flick of the tail before he slowly rose to his feet and began to pad over to Deadheart.

The other two warriors on the patrol followed Breezepelt's example and in a few moments the entire patrol had been assembled. Sedgewhisker and Bouldernose looked at Breezepelt expectantly, since he was supposed to be leading the patrol. "Let's go," Was all he mewed before he sped off towards the lake.

(Later on the patrol)

The patrol had been pretty normal so far; no scents of other clans and no scents of dangerous animals. Deadheart sighed in boredom.

"What's wrong?" a soft voice suddenly mewed behind him.

It was Sedgewhisker who had caught him off-guard. "Oh, nothing," he mumbled before coming up with something else to say. "It's just that I've never had an apprentice before and I hope I don't mess up." It was a simple lie; she'd hopefully give a few words of encouragement and leave him alone.

The she-cat nodded slowly. "I'm sure you'll do just fine, Cedarfang." Sedgewhisker paused for a second and looked away before returning her attention to him. "I haven't had an apprentice yet." She sounded somewhat disappointed.

Grrr. "If you had an apprentice, you'd make a great mentor, Sedgewhisker." Deadheart meowed kindly.

"Really, you think so?" she asked hopefully.

Deadheart nodded his head vigorously. "Of course you would!" She was starting to really get on his nerves, but he didn't let it show.

"Thanks." Was all she mewed before moving a little bit towards the front of the group.

(Later, dreaming)

Hisses filled the air and mixed yowling as well as the stench of blood and rot, the now-usual smells of the Dark Forest. Last time he had been here, new recruits had been joining them nearly every other moon and signs were becoming more encouraging. Taking over the clans would be easy very soon now that the clans were turning against themselves.

Two tabbies were trotting together with a white she-cat trailing behind them. Their voices were harsh and angry sounding, probably arguing again. "Tigerstar, get over here!" called Deadheart, annoyed. Why is it that he and Hawkfrost are always arguing?

"Yes, Deadheart?" Tigerstar asked sounding on edge. The three cats bowed to him before settling down in a sitting position.

"Tell me, how many recruits do we have and how well are they trained in our ways?"  
Tigerstar grinned, apparently eager to answer. "We have done excellent recently, Deadheart," His tone matched his grin. "This past moon we have added a warrior and two apprentices; they all seem interested in doing what it takes to help the Dark Forest. Overall, we have the strongest numbers in Shadowclan and Riverclan, but with Ivypool," he flicked his tail to the newly named warrior, "Thunderclan will soon be in our grasp as well and those soft kitty-pet fools will be in our paws."

Deadheart nodded his approval even though it appeared Tigerstar's hatred for Firestar was still clouding his judgment. "Good. I expect two more to be added to our numbers by the end of next moon." Tigerstar nodded. Deadheart began to pad away but stopped. "I will also start bringing my apprentice here starting next half-moon. She's odd and meek, so make sure to be extra-kind to her when you first see her or else she will get scared off and I will have your pelts. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Deadheart!" Only Ivypool and Hawkfrost had responded. Deadheart whipped around quickly and glared at Tigerstar, who had been glaring at him the who time.

"Is that clear, Tigerstar?" He was growling now. The only response he received was a nod. Ungrateful piece of crow-food! Deadheart turned around again and stalked off into the near-black abyss of the Dark Forest.

A/N: Really sorry once again, I'll have chapter 4 up in a day or two and chapter 5 & 6 up soon after (they will be posted probably the same day).


	7. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Sorry, wouldn't let me add any new stories for the past week for some reason.

This takes place a few days after the last chapter.

Allegiances

Windclan

Leader  
Onestar - Brown tabby tom

Deputy  
Owlwhisker - light brown tabby tom

Medicine Cat  
Kestrelflight - mottled gray tom

Warriors  
Crowfeather - dark gray tom  
Nightcloud - black she-cat  
Apprentice, Volepaw  
Gorsetail - very pale gray-and-white tom with blue eyes  
Weaselfur - ginger tom with white paws  
Harespring - brown-and-white tom  
Leaftail - dark tabby tom with amber eyes  
Sparrowflight - light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes  
Emberfoot - gray tom with two dark paws  
Heathertail - light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes  
Breezepelt - black tom  
Sedgewhisker - light brown tabby she-cat  
Dewspots - Dark gray she-cat  
Stoneclaw - Brown tabby tom with amber eyes  
Ferntail - Golden brown she-cat with amber eyes  
Cedarfang - grey tom with amber eyes and white underbelly  
Apprentice, Petalpaw  
Furzetail - gray-and-white she-cat  
Bouldernose - Large pale gray tom

Apprentices  
Petalpaw - White she-cat with amber eyes  
Volepaw - Grey tom with green eyes

Queens  
Whitetail - small white she-cat

Elders  
Tornear - tabby tom

Thunderclan

Leader  
Firestar

Deputy  
Brackenfur

Shadowclan

Leader  
Blackstar

Deputy  
Rowanclaw

Riverclan

Leader  
Reedstar

Deputy  
Minnowtail

Dark Forest Clan Cats

Windclan  
Cedarfang/Deadheart  
Breezepelt  
Furzetail

Thunderclan  
Ivypool  
Blossompelt  
Cherrypaw

Shadowclan  
Ratscar  
Tigerheart  
Olivenose  
Pinefur

Riverclan  
Pebblefoot  
Petalfur  
Trouttail  
Hollowpelt

Stoneclaw shook his head trying to wake himself up. He was with his clanmates on their way to the Gathering tonight. However, he felt uncharacteristically tired for some reason tonight and wished he could just sleep in his nest. Instead, he was trudging his way the long distance through the half-melted snow and then would be forced to sit still until the gathering had ended.

Even worse, besides Thunderclan, they were the farthest away from the island, meaning the trip back would be just as annoying. But as they approached the island, he decided to try and not dwell on it too much. His clan began to cross the tree-bridge and just as he was about to jump on it, he began to hear mutterings about them being the last clan to arrive.

Stoneclaw jumped onto the bridge and was strolling his way across when he suddenly lost his footing. His hind legs fell off the dead tree, hanging just above the dark water of lake. Thankfully, he had had a good grip with his front paws and was able to pull himself back onto the bridge with a grunt. He took a few quick breaths before getting on his way again.

Soon, he was in the clearing with the rest of his clanmates. Over the last couple of moons, the clans had been intermingling less and less. Tonight, no cat was talking outside of their own clan; even the leaders were ignoring each other. Stoneclaw saw quite a few cats exchanging glares and before returning back to the conversations they had been having with their clanmates.

A deafening yowl sounded from where the leaders were sitting. Every cat turned their head to see Reedstar sitting in the front, "I will go first," she spoke calmly. "Although it has been a hard leaf-bare, we have managed to feed ourselves enough." It was true, Riverclan was easily the best looking of the clans, even though leaf-bare was usually the hardest for them. "Mosspelt has retired to elder's den after many seasons of service to her clan. Hollowpelt and Trouttail passed their warrior assessments and have become full Riverclan warriors."

Stoneclaw looked to see two proud looking Riverclan cats puffing their chests out. Snorts could be heard from the crowd as well as a few insults about still being just as mouse-brained apprentices, except from Riverclan.

However, Reedstar continued on as if nothing was said. "Also, Duskfur has given birth to two kits, Fallowkit and Otterkit. Starclan has truly shown its wisdom and generosity."

Reedstar walked away as the other clans' hackles began to rise and hisses could be heard throughout the clans once again except for Riverclan, who appeared to be content.

Firestar was the next to climb up to speak. The grey on his chin was growing and starting to become noticeable. "Leaf-bare has been tough for Thunderclan, especially since we have started finding bones near the border with Windclan."

Stoneclaw took special notice of this. _How dare he suggest that we would take prey from them when they are ones stealing prey?_ His tail lashed angrily with his clanmates and he dug his claws in the ground.

"We will be increasing patrols in that area," Firestar paused before continuing. "Also, Brackenfur is retiring to the elder's den after many moons of service to his clan."

The orange tom jumped off before Onestar took his place for his clan's announcement, "Windclan has found bones with a foreign scent near Thunderclan border, and as such will be patrolling the area more regularly. We also have two new apprentices, Volepaw and Petalpaw, who have been given to Nightcloud and Cedarfang."

Thunderclan seemed to ignore Onestar's last statement. They were bristling at what Onestar had been suggesting.

Blackstar stepped up next, "This leaf-bare has been especially hard for Shadowclan. We have dealt with the loss of one of our queens, Ivytail. She died giving birth to her two kits, Runningkit and Flintkit, which also died soon after their birth." Blackstar sounded exhausted and looked to be a little less well-kept even more than most cats did in leaf-bare. "Also, with unjustly being forced to hunt smaller territory, we're having more trouble than past leaf-bares feeding our clan."

"We both know that territory didn't offer any prey, Blackstar," Interrupted Firestar, annoyed.

Onestar was the next to speak, "If it wasn't valuable, then you wouldn't have stolen it from them." Firestar turned surprised to hear anger in the tabby tom's voice. "It's obvious Thunderclan is becoming greedy, otherwise your cats wouldn't be stealing prey from my territory!"

"My cats are not stealing from you!" Firestar hissed, his anger and frustration clearly boiling over. "If anyone is stealing prey, it is Windclan!"

Below the leaders, the clans were beginning to face each other, hackles raised, claws extended when a she-cats yowl broke through the thick night air. "The moon in being covered by clouds! This is not what Starclan wants!"

There was silence for a moment as the cats slowly backed down while still lashing their tails as they observed what the she-cat had pointed out.

"This Gathering is over," mewed Blackstar, clearly agitated, "And we won't be coming back until the other clans will agree to live by the warrior code." The massive white tom jumped down from where he had been speaking and his clan was quick behind him as they headed to the exit of the clearing.

"Windclan will also be leaving now as well as staying in their territory during full moons until Thunderclan can keep control of their warriors." Onestar signaled for his clan to follow him, which they did obediently.

As Stoneclaw padded away with his clanmates, he could smell both fear and hatred in the air. Once again, he was towards the back of his clan. He overheard Firestar meowing, "Thunderclan will continue to follow the tradition of gathering at this location on full moons and hope…" The leader's voice faded away before Stoneclaw had heard everything.

_Of course, Firestar is as usual trying to seem like the great, noble one in all of this when he can't even keep his own cats from stealing!_ Stoneclaw had completely forgotten about the snow making him wet and cold. The near-battle between the clans on the island had brought him new energy and had also caused him to be angrier than he ever had been before.

When they got back to camp, the entire clan stared at the returning cats, expectant of news. Onestar immediately jumped onto the Big Stump and yowled, "All cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Big Stump." Only a few cats needed to be told, as most of them were outside when he had called. "Tonight, the moon was covered by Starclan," he started, "As you know, Thunderclan has recently taken to stealing our prey and other clan's territory. Because of this Windclan, as well as Shadowclan, and possibly even Riverclan have decided to stop attending gatherings until Thunderclan becomes honorable again."

For a few moments, their leader's words simply hung in the air. "I heard Firestar say that Thunderclan would still be going to the island on full moons!" called Stoneclaw.

"Typical Thunderclan!" called Weaselfur. Several cats joined him in annoyance of their neighbor clan and the voices began to grow, but another one of Onestar's yowls split through the clearing.

"Quiet!" Onestar's clan returned their gaze to him. "If Thunderclan does not stop stealing our prey in three days, we will attack them until they agree to stop." Cheers erupted from the cats below him. "That is all." He jumped off of the dead tree and went into his den with Owlwhisker close behind.

Stoneclaw turned to the cat nearest him, Bouldernose. "I can't wait to get my claws into some soft, kitty-pet pelt!" He meowed excitedly.

Bouldernose nodded in agreement, "Definitely. Those kitty-pets just need to be reminded of who the real warriors are."

(The Next Day)

"Hey, it's time for us to go on patrol, Stoneclaw," a dulcet voice whispered in his ear. He opened his eyes to see Ferntail looking at him. "Come on, you know how impatient Crowfeather is." She nosed him to hurry up,

Stoneclaw stood up. "All right, I'm up," he yawned as he stepped out of the den. A quick stretch of his hind legs and he was out of the den. "You want to share something really quick?" he motioned towards the little pile of wet fresh-kill.

"Sure!" she mewed happily. The two padded over and grabbed a scrawny rabbit and began to eat.

More of the snow had melted overnight and the ground had become more visible and most of the remaining snow had turned brown from the ground below them. The sun was out for the first time in a few days, and although there were a few small clouds in front of it, it was a comforting reminder that new-leaf was on its way.

The two finished soon after they had started and meted with Crowfeather and Dewspots. "Finally we can go." muttered Crowfeather. He went in the direction of Riverclan territory with the others just behind him. After a while, they were close to the Twolegplace. "Let's split into two groups. Dewspots, come with me, we'll hunt from here to the lake. Stoneclaw and Ferntail, you take from here until the end of the territory, okay?" They all nodded. "Good. We'll meet back here when the sun starts to go down." The black tom mewed curtly before padding away with Dewspots.

I'm hunting alone with Ferntail… Stoneclaw wasn't sure why but for some reason he was really nervous at the thought.

"I guess we should get to hunting." Ferntail mewed after a long silence.

"Er, yeah!" Stoneclaw snapped himself out of his thoughts at Ferntail's voice. "Where do you think would be a good place to start?" He asked, turning to look at her.

Ferntail searched around for a bit finally settling on an area. "That way," she indicated with her tail. "It's really wide-open and there was less snow there yesterday." She took off suddenly. "Try and catch me!" she yowled back at him.

"I'm going to go get you!" Stoneclaw called back as he took off at full speed to reach her. Soon, he was almost at her side. "I told you I'd get you!"

The bracken-colored she-cat turned around in mock horror when she saw how close he was. "Oh, no! Please don't hurt me!"

"It's too late now!" growled Stoneclaw playfully before jumping on her.

They tumbled around for a little bit from their momentum before slowing down to rolling around in the wet grass playfully growling and lightly batting each other with sheathed claws. Soon, they came to stop. Stoneclaw was standing above her, staring into her shining amber eyes while she returned the gaze.

They stayed their motionless for what seemed like moons before Stoneclaw jumped off, "So this is a good place for hunting?" he asked hurriedly in-between licks of his pelt.

"Um, yeah, really good." Ferntail mewed just as quickly as Stoneclaw. "In fact, I think I smell a rabbit right now."

Stoneclaw sniffed the air and could scent it as well. They followed the scent trail for a while in awkward silence before coming upon it: a fat hare, one of very few during leaf-bare. They immediately entered hunter's crouches to avoid alerting it. After they had gotten closer, they could see that it was a fox-length away from a burrow, which meant they would have no room for error if they wanted to catch it.

Ferntail signaled with her tail for Stoneclaw to go around to the opposite of the rabbit so they might be able to block off its burrow. He slowly made his way around, being extra careful not to make any noise. Barely a moment after he was in position, he heard his partner take off. He sprinted towards the rabbit as well, getting in front of it just as it was about to dash into its sanctuary. It nearly ran into him and tried to veer away, but because it had to slow down to turn, Ferntail was able to jump on it and administer the killing bite.

The two mewed their thanks to Starclan before moving on. By the time they had gotten back to the meeting spot, they had not found anything besides the rabbit. Crowfeather and Dewspots hadn't had much luck either, only catching a couple of sick-looking squirrels.

Dewspots sighed. "I guess it could be worse," she meowed through a mouth full of fur. The four made their way back to camp in silence.

A/N: Hopefully I didn't make any mistakes, if I do feel free to tell me.

Also, please review, its very important to me and thank to everyone who has reviewed/subscribed/favorited so far.

The next chapter's allegiances will feature all four complete clans and should hopefully last for several chapters.

Previews:

Chapter 5: Deadheart goes back to the Dark Forest. This time, he has a guest.

Chapter 6: Stoneclaw is having the weirdest dream of his life until a cat from Starclan visits him.**  
**


	8. Chapter 5

**A/N: **I'm really sorry these two chapters took so long, but I had a huge english essay and a physics project. Tell me if there are any mistakes.

**Windclan**

**Leader**

_Onestar_ - Brown tabby tom

**Deputy**

_Owlwhisker _- light brown tabby tom

**Medicine Cat:**

_Kestrelflight_ - mottled gray tom

**Warriors **

_Whitetail_ **- **small white she-cat

_Crowfeather_ **- **dark gray tom

_Nightcloud _**- **black she-cat

**Apprentice, **_Volepaw_

_Gorsetail_ **- **very pale gray-and-white tom with blue eyes

_Weaselfur_ **- **ginger tom with white paws

_Harespring_ **- **brown-and-white tom

_Leaftail_**- **dark tabby tom

_Sparrowflight_ - light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes m with amber eyes

_Emberfoot_**- **gray tom with two dark paws

_Heathertail_** - **light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

_Breezepelt_** - **black tom

_Sedgewhisker_** - **light brown tabby she-cat

_Dewspots_** - **Dark gray she-cat

_Stoneclaw_** - **Brown tabby tom with amber eyes

_Ferntail_** - **Goldenbrown she-cat with amber eyes

_Cedarfang_** - **grey tom with amber eyes and white underbelly

**Apprentice, **_Petalpaw_

_Furzetail_** - **gray-and-white she-cat

_Bouldernose_** - **Large pale gray tom

**Apprentices**

_Petalpaw_ - White she-cat with amber eyes

_Volepaw_ - Grey tom with green eyes

**Queens**

**Elders**

_Tornear _**- **tabby tom

**Thunderclan**

**Leader**

Firestar - Ginger tom with a flame-colored pelt

**Deputy**

Thornclaw- Golden brown tabby tom

**Medicine Cat**

Jayfeather – Gray tabby tom with blind blue eyes

Apprentice, Briarlight

**Warriors**

Millie - Striped gray tabby she-cat

Sorreltail - Tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with amber eyes

Cloudtail - Long-haired white tom with blue eyes

Brightheart - White she-cat with ginger patches

**Apprentice,** Cherrypaw

Squirrelflight - Dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

Leafpool - Light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Spiderleg - Long-limbed black tom with brown underbelly and amber eyes

Birchfall - Light brown tabby tom

Whitewing - White she-cat with green eyes

Berrynose - Cream-colored tom

Hazeltail - Small gray-and-white she-cat

Poppyfrost - Tortoiseshell she-cat

Cinderheart - Gray tabby she-cat

Lionblaze - Golden tabby tom with amber eyes

Foxleap - Reddish tabby tom

**Apprentice, **Molepaw

Icecloud - White she-cat

Toadstep - Black-and-white tom

Rosepetal - Dark cream she-cat

Blossomfall - Tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

Bumblestripe - Very pale gray tom with black stripes

Dovewing – Gray she-cat

Ivypool - Silver-and-white tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes

**Apprentices**

Briarlight - Dark brown she-cat

Cherrypaw - ginger she-cat

Molepaw - brown-and-cream tom

**Queens**

Ferncloud - Pale gray (with darker flecks) she-cat with green eyes

Daisy - Cream long-furred cat from the horseplace

**Elders**

Mousefur - Small dusky brown she-cat

Purdy - Plump tabby former loner with a gray muzzle

Longtail - Pale tabby tom with black stripes, retired early due to failing sight

Dustpelt - Dark brown tabby tom

Graystripe – Long-haired gray tom

Brackenfur – Golden brown tabby tom

**Shadowclan**

**Leader**

Blackstar - large white tom with huge jet - black paws

**Deputy**

Rowanclaw – ginger tom

**Apprentice,** Dewpaw

**Medicine Cat**

Medicine Cat: Littlecloud - very small tabby tom

** Apprentice, **Sparrowpaw

**Warriors**

Oakfur - small brown tom

Smokefoot - black tom

Toadfoot - dark brown tom

Applefur - mottled brown she-cat

**Apprentice, **Mistpaw

Crowfrost - black - and - white tom

Ratscar - brown tom with long scar across his back

Snowbird - pure - white she-cat

Tawnypelt - tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

Olivenose - tortoiseshell she-cat

Shrewfoot - gray she-cat with black feet

Redwillow - mottled brown - and - ginger tom

Tigerheart - dark brown tabby tom

Dawnpelt - cream - furred she-cat

Kinkfur - tabby she-cat, with long fur that sticks out at all angles

Starlingcall - ginger tom

Pinefur - black she-cat

Ferretnose - cream - and - gray tom

**Queens**

**Apprentices**

Sparrowpaw – Big tabby tom

Mistpaw - spiky-furred, pale gray she-cat

Dewpaw - gray she-cat

**Elders**

Snaketail - dark brown tom with tabby - striped tail

Whitewater - White she-cat with long fur, blind in one eye

**Riverclan**

**Leader**

Reedstar – Black tom

**Deputy**

Rippletail - Dark gray tabby tom

**Medicine Cat**

Mothwing - dappled golden she-cat

** Apprentice, **Willowshine

**Warriors**

Graymist - pale gray tabby she-cat

Mintfur - light gray tabby tom

Icewing - white she-cat with blue eyes

Minnowtail - dark gray she-cat

Apprentice, Mossypaw (brown - and - white she-cat)

Pebblefoot - mottled gray tom

Apprentice, Rushpaw (light brown tabby tom)

Mallownose - light brown tabby tom

Robinwing - tortoiseshell-and-white tom

Beetlewhisker - brown - and - white tabby tom

Petalfur - gray-and-white she-cat

Grasspelt - light brown tom

Trouttail - pale gray tabby she-cat

**Apprentices**

Willowshine - gray tabby she-cat

Rushpaw - light brown tabby tom

Mossypaw - brown - and - white she-cat

**Queens**

Duskfur - brown tabby she-cat (mother Fallowkit, a pale brown she-cat , and Otterkit, a brown tom)

**Elders**

Dapplenose - mottled gray she-cat

Pouncetail - ginger - and - white tom

Mosspelt - tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes

**_Dark Forest Clan Cats_**

**Windclan**

_Cedarfang/Deadheart_

_Breezepelt_

_Furzetail_

**Thunderclan**

_Ivypool_

_Blossomfall_

_Cherrypaw_

**Shadowclan**

_Ratscar_

_Tigerheart_

_Olivenose_

_Pinefur_

**Riverclan**

_Pebblefoot_

_Petalfur_

_Trouttail_

**Non-Clan**

_Nighttail – Black tom_

_Rabbitlegs – Fast small grey tom with holes in his cheek_

**Chapter 5**

It was the night of the month where Deadheart would go visit his disgusting, yet almost comforting home: the Dark Forest. Tonight would be especially busy for him. First, he would be meeting with Hawkfrost and Tigerstar for a report, after that he would be watching his apprentice train with Ivypool until they were finished, and then he would end the night by observing some of the more senior of his cats training.

Observing the young Ivypool was of utmost importance for Deadheart. Even though she had become well-liked by Tigerstar and his son, he was not so sure of where her loyalties lied. If she was loyal at all to Starclan or her non-Dark Forest clanmates, she would be made a frightening, brutal example out of in front of his forces.

Deadheart opened his eyes to the grim sight of the Place of No Stars. The two massive tabbies who trained his cats while he was absent had been waiting for him. This had to be urgent. "What's happened that it couldn't wait?" He noticed Ivypool wasn't around.

The two exchanged a quick glance before Tigerstar spoke up, "One of them tried to warn the clans."

_Maybe I was right about that she-cat. _"Don't just sit there staring at me, who was it?" The tom snapped at them, demanding answers.

"It was Hollowpelt," replied Hawkfrost nervously, "But Pebblefoot took care of it. Riverclan thinks a starving fox caught him off guard. He took the body to the other side of the Thunderpath, so no cat should see it." Hawkfrost returned his gaze to his leader.

Deadheart was quite disappointed, but he was able to hold onto his temper. "Okay," He paused for a few heartbeats before continuing. "Test the other clan cats' loyalty except Pebblefoot's and Ivypool's. They have what it takes. In fact, reward Pebblefoot for what he has done." He didn't want either of the two, specifically Hawkfrost warning Ivypool of her upcoming 'assessment'.

"Is there anything else we should do, Deadheart?" Asked Tigerstar with a level gaze.

He shook his head, "Before I send you on your way, tell me, have any other clan cats joined us this past moon?"

Tigerstar stared back disappointed. "Not this moon if you don't count the one arriving tonight. But there are new apprentices in both Riverclan and Shadowclan that should be easy targets for us."

"I've heard about them." Despite the poor past moon, things may be looking a little better now. "I want at least three of them." He meowed almost warningly.

Tigerstar and Hawkfrost nodded together. "It will be done, Deadheart."

"That is all." The tom turned around and began to walk away. "I will be going now. I have other, more important matters to attend. Don't disappoint me, or next time you may be missing an ear afterwards." He continued on for a while, mostly in his thoughts and trying to calm himself down.

Deadheart had travelled a fair ways until he sensed Ivypool's presence. The fake moorland had been set up and was ready for Petalpaw to visit. He could see into it from the Dark Forest, but neither the Thunderclan warrior nor his apprentice would be able to see out of it.

Ivypool was clearly nervous, as her tail was flicking back and forth as she paced around the clearing. She sat down and began to groom herself. When she had finished she sat there silently without moving at all.

Petalpaw's body began to fade into the clearing. Her eyes slowly opened and then went wide. "Wow," she mewed as she looked around the clearing.

"Pretty, isn't it?" asked Ivypool from a little bit behind the younger she-cat, causing her to jump and turn around.

The smaller of the two white she-cats nearly crumpled to the ground out of fear and surprise. "W-who are you? Where is this? And why do you smell like Thunderclan?" She looked away from Ivypool with occasional glances looking up at her and their surroundings.

_This could take a while if she always reacts like this around new cats…_ he groaned silently in his head.

Ivypool's mask became a face of concern. "It's okay, I won't hurt you," she purred trying to comfort Petalpaw, who was still looking doubtful. "I promise." She was looking slightly less worried now. "My name is Ivypool, and as you noticed, I am a Thunderclan warrior." She started to pad over to the apprentice.

Petalpaw held her ground, either to show strength or because she was still scared. "If you're from Thunderclan, then why are you here, aren't we supposed to be enemies?" she asked, confused.

The Thunderclan warrior settled next to the Windclan apprentice and nodded, "Normally, yes, but I'm not here as part of Thunderclan, I am here to help make you a strong warrior." Ivypool looked at the small cat beside her. "How does that sound?"

"But we're in different clans, why would you want me to be stronger?" Petalpaw mewed. "Wouldn't that make it harder for your clan if we were to fight?"

Ivypool nodded again. "Yes, that is true. But like I said, I am not here as member of Thunderclan. Clan rivalries will become things of the past that only elders will try to maintain, even though they will endanger us all. I am here to help you become the best warrior possible, because only the strongest will survive in the coming time, and no clan must be left behind. You will be one of the cats that carry on your clan." Ivypool had remained calm with an almost serene voice the entire time.

By now, Petalpaw's amber eyes had grown huge. "Wow, really?" she sounded amazed as she stared at Ivypool.

"Yes, but, you aren't allowed to tell anyone because it would cause great panic if a lot of cats knew what was going to happen and..." Ivypool's voice began to fade away as Deadheart left the two white she-cats alone to finish their conversation.

He had determined that Ivypool was both trustworthy and intelligent enough. She had proven that by convincing his apprentice to join and not telling her too much, even if it was more than he had liked, about what she would be joining, which could've have proven difficult with how curious of a cat Petalpaw was. It was now time for him to go check in on some of the others in his growing numbers.

It was a fairly long distance to get to the public training area. When he arrived everything stopped. All the cats turned to him and bowed down. "Keep going. I'm just here to observe for a little bit." He grinned a little.

The group slowly stood up and began to face each other again. "Yes, sir," replied one of them, a large black tom. Soon the cats were launching at each other, screeches and hisses filled the air as they sparred. Blood was mixing into the soil and weaving its way through the grass like an adder. All the cats were panting, most of them were on the ground from their exhaustion and pain, but a few had managed to stay standing.

"That was good. Especially those of you who are not on the ground," he tried sounding pleasant. "But one you disappointed me greatly." His voice completely changed into that of anger. "You, Rabbitlegs. Step forward," he growled. The small grey tom picked himself up and cowered over to his leader. "You barely put up a fight. That is unacceptable."

For a few heartbeats, Deadheart simply looked down at him. Suddenly he pounced on the anxious tom and rolled him onto his back before placing his paw on his chest. Rabbitleg's eyes were staring straight up, silently pleading not to hurt him. Deadheart brought his other paw up and then brought it back down slowly, causing the cat below him to sigh in relief. But in less than a heartbeat, Deadheart's claws had hooked themselves into Rabbitleg's cheek and had just as quickly pulled out.

Deadheart pulled his paw off of the other tom that was now writhing and screeching in pain. What remained of his cheek hung loosely to the rest of his face and was spurting blood in several directions, further bloodying the clearing.

Several of the cats just looked at their ally in disgust, others apathetically, and several more nervous and frightened.

"The next time I see such a pathetic display, you will be losing more than part of your face," Deadheart yowled at the assembled cats furiously before placing his paw once again on Rabbitlegs, causing him to stop writhing out of the fear of what could happen if he didn't. He continued, now a bit quieter, and put his face to Rabbitlegs and stared straight into his eyes. "It will be your life…"

* * *

Please review, it will help me and motivate me!

Thank you to WPMS for helping out with this chapter.


	9. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Stoneclaw swore he was losing his mind. Whenever cats said something really unlikely, the usual joking response would be: 'When hedgehogs fly!' Well, he was a hedgehog, and he was flying! He could get a nice view of the lake, the clan territories, and far beyond into unknown places from his spot high in the sky. His mouth was gaping when he saw some of the things: huge mountains, an uncountable number of twoleg places, and giant herds of many kinds of monsters.

It dropped open even further when the grey hedgehog with two dark paws joined him near the clouds. It looked like Emberfoot and even had his scent! "Wait—how—where—" He was cut off.

"Lovely up here isn't it, Stoneclaw?" The tom asked calmly, trying to strike up a conversation as if what was happening was an everyday occurrence."You can feel the wind really well up here, it's fantastic!" He paused for a second then looked down and cheerfully called out the name of another Windclan cat. "Hey there, Furzetail, how is it going? I was just talking to Stoneclaw over here." He pointed his stubby tail, if you could even call it that, over at him. They started a conversation and soon seemed to forget he even existed as more Windclan cats joined them.

Stoneclaw grew concerned than before when he saw cats from other clans and other cats he didn't know make their way up to where this 'gathering' was happening. "What's happening? There is no way this is possible!" He closed eyes in confusion, but when he opened his eyes again what he saw truly shocked him. A starry cat was in front of him. It shocked him so much that he started to fall from his place in the sky. As he fell he noticed his body was now that of a cat and the only other being there was the mysterious starry cat that was chasing his falling form.

Suddenly, he slowed down, coming to a halt on soft mossy ground. The next thing he knew was that he was staring into the eyes of the starry cat, also giving him his first clear view. He somehow seemed familiar, with his brown pelt and short tail. _Barkface! _But he looked…younger. "Barkface, why are you here? Did you make me dream that?" Stoneclaw asked confused.

The cat had an amused look on his face after the last question, but his expression quickly changed to the most serious Stoneclaw had ever seen. "I'm sorry, but there is no time for such petty, unimportant questions." His eyes narrowed to slits, sending a little fear into Stoneclaw. He paused then surprised Stoneclaw with his words. "I have a couple of very important things to tell you. First, you will be important for the clan's survival, it won't be easy either. Second, I have something for you to tell to my former apprentice." He paused for a few heartbeats before speaking rapidly. "The danger is closer than ever, and in more ways than one. Do not tell anyone but Kestrelflight. I must go now." Windclan's old medicine dashed off at an incredible pace.

Stoneclaw tried to catch up to him, calling out questions, "What am I supposed to do? What is the danger? And why can't I—." Suddenly a massive force slammed into his head and he was back in his nest in the real world.

He quickly cleaned off his dirty pelt and started over towards Kestrelflight's den. On his way there, Ferntail, who he remembered seeing in his dream last night, approached him with a concerned look on her face. He slowed down but kept moving as she spoke to him. "Is something wrong, Stoneclaw? You look terrible." He simply shook his head and began to speed up his pace to where it was before the interruption. "If you need me…"Her voice trailed off disappointed as he continued towards his destination.

_I'm sorry, Ferntail,_ he silently apologized to her, _But I have to do this for Starclan._

He burst through the bracken covered entrance of the medicine cat den with a loud rustling causing the previously sleeping Kestrelflight. He had a frightened, but extremely drowsy look on his face as he jumped from sudden noise. His mew reflected his body language, "What is it? What is it that you have to say that you couldn't wait for me to wake up?" He yawned looking like he was about to collapse back into his nest and go to sleep again.

Stoneclaw paused, summoning the words of the cat he had talked to last night. He told him and then asked a question. "What do you think, what does it mean?" He was hoping that he would know but his response wasn't what he was hoping for, in fact, it wasn't promising in anyway.

Kestrelflight seemed to ponder this for a while before he opened his jaws slightly as if scenting for something. His response came slowly and had a slightly confused sound to it. "I am not sure what it means." He was quiet again for a long time with a wistful look, but quickly left. "So Barkface told you this?" He looked grim, completely different than his normally cheery self. "Tell me everything." Stoneclaw started to tell his dream from the beginning, but was told to skip to where he first saw Barkface. "I see…well, you can go now Stoneclaw. I'm sorry that I can't answer any of your questions, I'll tell you if I find anything out." He turned around and went to the back of the den before Stoneclaw could reply.

"Oh, okay. See you later, then." He sighed, leaving disappointed that Kestrelflight hadn't been able to tell him anything about what the former medicine cat's message had been about. _Maybe I should stop thinking about it, after all I'm sure Kestrelflight will figure it out then tell me what it is about like he said he would._ He saw Ferntail across the camp clearing taking a rabbit from the fresh-kill pile and decided to apologize to her about earlier. When he got there he was a little nervous and felt really bad for what he had done. "Hello, Ferntail. I'm really sorry about earlier, I—"

"Don't worry about it, Stoneclaw." The bracken-colored she-cat smiled as she spoke. "It's okay, it must have been important." Ferntail paused for a heartbeat and she shuffled her paws before she asked him a question. "Do you want to share this rabbit? I haven't had any yet, and it's pretty big…" She trailed off then looked at Stoneclaw with a hopeful look in her eyes. When he nodded it turned to pure joy. As he settled down next to her she said, "You can have the first bite." He hesitated but then took a bite out of the still warm creature, savoring its taste. He gave her a grateful look, and only then did she begin to eat.

"Thanks, Ferntail," he mewed softly, some sort of odd feeling bubbling up with him.

Ferntail shook her head. "It's nothing, really," she replied nervously.

(In the Afterlife)

His paws pounded on as he sprinted back to his home. The paws behind him had been getting closer and closer and he wasn't sure if he would make it. He wasn't very used to running since he had spent his entire living life coop-up inside of a den. The blood was pounding in his ears, soon drowning out almost all the other sound, and his legs were starting to falter when several starry cats jumped out with a yowl, and after a few thuds the paws behind him had stopped.

Not long after, Barkface was able to reach the clearing where he was to meet Tallstar and some of the other former Windclan leaders. "You're safe, Barkface," Tallstar sighed in relief. "Were you able to deliver the message?"

Barkface nodded, panting heavily as he essentially slumped to the ground. "Yes, Tallstar," he had to take a few more deep breaths. "I only wish I could've given it to my own apprentice.

Swiftstar nodded agreeing in concern. "Yes, but it is impossible when he is so frustrated with us that he won't open his mind to us."

"The Dark Forest is even more of a concern right now, as Barkface's narrow escape tells us quite clearly," commented a pure white tom, Dovestar, with the rest of the cats nodding in agreement. "This is the last time I will allow us to risk a life, Deadheart's visits distract only so much of the Dark Forest."

Swiftstar, a dark gray-black tom spoke up. "But what if we find out something that could prevent a tragedy? I don't want another clan to disappear especially not ours." He spoke grimly, remembering regretfully sending off Skyclan to figure out how to live on their own.

"I'm sorry, Swiftstar, but we may have already said too much."

* * *

A/N: Tell me if I messed up anything. Also, review, it's extremely important!

Thank you to WPMS for helping out with this chapter.

Next Chapter: A mystery cat is making their return, unknown to the clans.


	10. Chapter 7: Part 1

AN: I'm really sorry this took so long. I'm having trouble finding time to write outside of weekends. At least this is longer than any of the other chapters.

**Chapter 7: Part 1**

She looked around after waking up from her nap. Her mate was lying there wrapped her in their den. The dirt walls surrounding them kept them warm on what they heard was a fairly cold day outside. She had been right about how excellent a home for all of them the tunnels would make. It had all happened so quickly that it amazed her every time she thought about it.

(Several Seasons Ago)

She just couldn't take it anymore. No one in the clans followed the Warrior Code anymore, not even herself, she knew she had to banish herself; it was the right thing to do. "Hollyleaf, no! We can work this out-!" Her brother, Jayfeather, called out to her. But before he could even finish, the river, mixed with dirt, rocks, and sticks, overtook her and slammed her against the walls and violently hauled her downstream. A huge blunt force unexpectedly struck her head from behind and her last thoughts came to her as the world faded to black, _I guess it's time to go to the Dark Forest where I belong._

Hollyleaf opened her eyes. She was in a small mud puddle, her fur was wet, sticky, and covered various things. Her body was in quite a bit of pain and she could hardly move. She tried to stand up, but to no avail. As soon as she fell back to dirty water, her head exploded, causing her to her curl into a ball and flail her paws splashing the mud around and clawing some of the wet ground. Sleep was thankfully quick to overtake her.

When she next awoke, Hollyleaf was unsure of how much time had passed, but she wasn't as sore as before and was able to at least sit up, even though the headache had hardly subsided. Turning around, Hollyleaf noticed that she had been thrown into a small corridor by the river, just a tail-length in front of the her was the river, still flowing strongly, but not enough so that it was still flowing where she was now standing. "Starclan is punishing me by forcing me to live the rest of my life in shame without a clan," she stated out-loud to no one in particular. "I understand, I deserve it."

For the next few days, Hollyleaf traversed her way through the tunnels, there wasn't much drinkable water, and what drinkable water there was, was usually moving incredibly fast. When she finally got out at the edge of the forest surrounding the lake, her pelt had become even more ragged and she had developed what she assumed was whitecough. She slept again, barely taking more than a few paces outside of the dark confines.

Hollyleaf had never been to this part of the forest. Although it wasn't very big and she was out of it quickly, it was tortuous. The trees constantly tried to attack her with their branches and try to snare her legs in their roots while they glared at her and flung stinging insults. By the time she had made it away from the horrid trees, she was walking forward with her head down and eyes wide.

For a little more than a quarter moon after that she continued on into a Twolegplace with next to no food or rest. The area she was in had an uncountable number of monsters. The noise they created together was louder than any yowl or battles she had ever heard, making it impossible to hear anything else; even in the uncovered tunnels behind the huge twolegnests didn't provide much relief from the noise. Their fumes made her choke almost constantly, causing her to fear that she would develop greencough anytime soon.

While searching for prey in one of the uncovered tunnels, she heard a deep growling from behind her. Hollyleaf turned around to see a massive dog, staring at her, drooling with hunger in its eyes. Its ribs were visible as it slowly moved towards her. Her fur stood on it ends as much as it could with the shape it was in. The dog was not intimidated when she hissed and kept moving forward. She knew she had no chance if she were to try and fight it.

After a few heartbeats, Hollyleaf turned around and took off as quick as she could. She dashed around corners; right, left, right, left, and then a final left before dashing into and abandoned twolegnest. There was a hole on the other side so she ran through that as well and ran a bit more before stopping thinking she had lost the dog since she hadn't heard after a couple of turns. But before she had caught her breath, she heard more growls and the brushing of fur against the sides of the holes in the nest. The dog was voraciously staring at her again when she turned around.

Hollyleaf turned around and sprinted off again and after a few more times running around corners, she came to a large red wall. She attempted to climb up it, but it was much too hard to dig her claws into and she couldn't even make it half-way up. _This is it, I'm finally going to…die. _She resigned herself and put her head down waiting for the teeth to bury themselves into her neck and then be shaken until she was dead.

But what happened next shocked her. There was an angry his and a couple of growls and some sounds of fighting before she heard the dog yelping and hopping away with its tail between his legs.

"Hey, it's okay now. He's gone," Called a tom's voice. "Come on, I won't hurt you."

He sounded friendly enough to Hollyleaf, so she decided to go over to him and thank him. He was a large brown tom with gentle amber eyes who was in fairly good shape for it still being leaf-bare. "Thank you, very much, um—." she realized had no idea what his name was.

The tom grinned. "Cocoa, my name is Cocoa." He responded, seeming to understand why she had paused. "What about your name? I haven't seen you around this part of the city. You must be new around here to not know how to get away from that dog."

"Er, yes, I've only been here for a day or two…" she started to pad over to Cocoa, but began feeling faint as she did so. "My name is Holl—." Everything was black again, a common occurrence over the past half-moon.

(The Next Day)

Hollyleaf slowly blinked her eyes open. For the most part it was dark, but there were a few beams of light poking their way through some small cracks. "Where am I?" She couldn't really distinguish much other than she was beneath something with a very low roof and that it smelled like crowfood. She remembered her encounter with the dog and almost dying before being saved by that tom. "Did Cocoa bring me here?"

"Yes, I did," Came Cocoa's friendly voice as he poked his head under the roof. Hollyleaf panicked and jumped up, causing her to hit her head on the roof. "Hey, calm down, you already seem like you're in bad enough shape." He pulled his head out, bur it came back just as quickly, this time with a mouse hanging from his jaws. He tossed it, landing right by her paws.

"Is this for me?" she wasn't sure if he would actually help her this much or not, it didn't make sense.

Cocoa nodded. "Of course! It looks like you haven't eaten recently," he confirmed to her. "When was the last time you ate?" he asked, noting that her frame was becoming fairly visible coat.

Hollyleaf paused for a moment to think, but nothing came up. "I don't remember." She stared at her paws for a while.

"You don't remember?" Cocoa seemed shocked. Hollyleaf simply shook her head. "Well then, don't just lay there, eat that mouse, you can't just keep wasting away." He pushed the mouse closer to his guest with his nose.

She took a bite; it was the best mouse she had ever eaten; juicy, warm, and sweet. She savored it before swallowing it, "Thank you so much, Cocoa!" But then she realized something. "But what are you going to eat?" she started to feel guilty since she hadn't contributed anything herself.

Cocoa just shrugged his massive shoulders. "I don't know, I'll find something in a bit. Just keep eating that mouse; you need to regain your strength." She nodded and went back to eating. "Good. Now I can go get something for myself without worrying about you." The brown tom took off a few heartbeats later. However, he was back in no time at all, "Before I go, I still don't your name."

Hollyleaf swallowed one of the last bites of her prey, "It's…" she was internally debating whether or not she should keep her clan name, and decided to stick with it. "It's Hollyleaf."

"It's pretty," Cocoa replied, grinning.

Hollyleaf couldn't help but feel embarrassed, "Oh, uh, thanks!"

"Bye, again," The tom meowed before dashing off to wherever he got his prey from in this crazy place.

After a few more bites the mouse had been finished. There wasn't anywhere to bury it since the ground was made of completely solid rock, so she just moved it over to the back part of Cocoa's den where she figured neither of them would step on it. She was trying to stay awake until he got back, but it had been dark for quite a while and she decided it would be best if she just rested.

The next morning, Hollyleaf woke up feeling better than she had in a long time. Cocoa was still asleep. As she crawled out from under the den, she stretched her legs and yawned as she sat down.

"Good morning, Hollyleaf," her savior's voice mewed from behind her, almost causing her to jump in surprise. "You look a bit better today."

Hollyleaf nodded her head. "Yes, I feel better today, too," she paused. "Thank you so much for helping me these past couple of days."

"It's not a problem," the brown tom replied cheerily. "Besides, I cannot remember the last time I had a visitor."

They stood in somewhat awkward silence for a bit before either of them spoke. "Thank you again, Cocoa, but I should probably get going now." Hollyleaf started to turn around to leave but was stopped.

"You don't have to leave already, do you?" Cocoa's amber eyes stared into her green ones. "Besides, you could still put on a bit more weight, and I know this city like the back of my paw."

"But wouldn't I just be burdening you more by staying here longer?" she asked worried, but he shook his head. "Thank you, I appreciate all of this very much." Cocoa flicked his tail, indicating for her to follow him.

For the rest of the day, they explored louder part of the city. This was where there were more cars and thunderpaths, as well as huge twolegnests than in any other part. Even worse, it was also the most dangerous part of the city; it had the most dogs as well as twolegs in monsters that would take the animals it could catch and take them to the cutter or other places that they didn't know about. There weren't all that many places to hunt here, but the ones that were there were usually plentiful during the colder seasons.

It rained over night, and the next day, they went to the quiet side of the city. Hollyleaf looked in a puddle, and for the first time in a half-moon, she saw herself and couldn't hold back a gasp. "My fur looks absolutely dreadful."

"Oh, sorry for not mentioning that, Hollyleaf. A lot of cats around here don't really bother to keep their fur tidy, so I figured I wouldn't mention it," her companion mewed apologetically.

Hollyleaf was licking her fur rapidly; doing everything she could to re-tame it. "Don't worry about, I just wish I had noticed earlier," she mewed between licks. She continued to clean herself as best she could before sitting up and looking back in the puddle. There were still a few patches that were standing up because she had been unable to reach them. "That looks much better. Thank you for waiting." She blinked her gratitude to Cocoa, who flicked his tail before moving on again for their tour of the city.

They arrived back under what Cocoa had called his "dumpster" soon after night had fallen. "Thanks for showing me around again, Cocoa, I really enjoyed it," Hollyleaf mewed appreciatively.

"It was my pleasure," he replied, yawning. There were a few moments of silence before he spoke again. "Do you want me to get those spots you couldn't quite reach earlier?"

The question took Hollyleaf by surprise, but she couldn't say no. "Yes, please! I don't know how I'm possibly going to repay you for all you've done."

Cocoa didn't say anything as he licked his guest's back in the spots where the fur was sticking up. Hollyleaf couldn't help but purr and relax. She was asleep in almost no time.

When she woke up the next morning, Hollyleaf chose to just lay there with her eyes closed for a while when she realized something almost frightening. _I've been living with a rogue for several days now!_ She was starting to panic, but calmed down a bit in sadness. _But I'm just a rogue now, as well. _She sighed. _But this is my punishment and this is how I must live for the rest of my days._

She heard the city rogue's voice whispering behind her, "Hollyleaf, are you awake?" She lifted her head and nodded. "Do you want to go hunting?"

"I'd love to!" she responded before crawling out from beneath the dumpster with Cocoa appearing beside her a moment later. "Where should we go today?"

Cocoa thought for a second. "I think we should go to the quieter part of the city." The two of them travelled around for a while and had been able to find one piece of prey so far: a scrawny mouse, but that's really all there was in the city. Hollyleaf had been the one to catch and was carrying it in her mouth. "So, where are you from, Hollyleaf?" Cocoa asked out of nowhere.

The question totally took her by surprise. "I-I'm from a group of four clans that lived around a lake." Hollyleaf looked down at the ground in sadness.

Cocoa's eyes went wide. "They are real? I thought they were just rumors." He was starting to seem scared. "You aren't going to eat me are you?"

Hollyleaf laughed in melancholy. "No, don't worry, we don't eat other cats." _But I killed one. _"We only attacked to protect our borders."

Cocoa relaxed a bit. "Oh, that's good. The first I heard of the forest cats was a few months ago. The word on the street was that you ate your prey alive." He thought for a second. "And I thought you were supposed to be the size of foxes."

"Nope, we are the same size as any other cat. I'd probably be a bit bigger if I hadn't nearly starved." She laughed, amazed at the kind of a reputation that they had. She still had the mouse in her mouth, but it was small enough not disrupt her ability to speak. "You're actually bigger than all of the cats in Windclan as well as a lot of the cats in the other clans." Images of her clanmates and the other clans began flooding back to her and she couldn't help but grin a bit.

"Er, I am?" Cocoa seemed amazed at this then noticed her grin. "Then why did you leave? You seem happy talking about it." The mouse dropped from Hollyleaf's mouth and she stared straight ahead with her jaw trembling. The big brown tom realized he shouldn't have said that. "I'm sorry! You don't have to talk about it." She continued to stare before he started to shake her with his paw. "Hollyleaf, are you okay?"

The she-cat shook her head. "Yes, I'm fine," She said quickly. "Come on, let's go find some more prey!" she sounded as excited as she could to try and block out her grief. They were able to catch one more piece of prey before it started to rain heavily, forcing them back to the dumpster. It was once again caught by Hollyleaf.

"Brackenfur taught me," she sighed. "He was a great mentor." Cocoa picked up on her mood and just nodded and put his tail on her shoulder. For some reason his being there made her outcast that much more bearable.

They began to enjoy each other's company so much that Cocoa asked Hollyleaf to stay permanently. Over time, Hollyleaf explained her old life to her savior; about clans, the warrior code, and even hunting technique and battle moves. It turns out Cocoa was a quick learner and was able to get the techniques to pretty well after only a day or two. But Hollyleaf left out some things like who exactly her parents were and about how her brothers were part of a prophecy and had powers. After several moons passed they had become mates and the idea of living in a clan had become very interesting to Cocoa, and he was able to convince her to start a new clan since she was strongly against returning to her old clan with him and to even give him a clan name.

Since she was not a leader, she had no authority to change his name in a ceremony such as a leader would, but she changing it would have to happen at some point if they were to be in a clan. "From now on you will be named Barkpelt. Because I know that you will always be at my side to protect me." She leaned into his side and twined her tail around his, purring.

The newly-named Barkpelt set his head on hers. "I love you."

(Soon After)

At the beginning of her pregnancy, they started to travel around and tried to recruit clans to join their newly forming clan. Unfortunately, they had almost no luck at all. There were only two cats they had been able to convince to join at first without much effort: Dom and Abby.

They were mates who were going to be having kits soon, and when they heard that there would be others to help them protect the kits and get food for Abby when she was taking care of them, they immediately agreed. Abby was a ginger she-cat and Dom was a dark-gray tom, with the build of a Windclan cat.

Soon after Dom and Abby joined were Creep and Larry. They had met them about a half of a moon after the first two cats. Larry was blue-gray tom. He was hard to convince, taking several days of back and forth on his decision when he finally decided that he would give it a try. Creep lived on the quiet side of town in a secluded area, doing his best not only to stay away from the two-legs, but also other cats. He was a furless cat, with gray-and-white skin and large, almost bulging amber eyes. When Hollyleaf and Barkpelt had first encountered him he ran away, but they had been able to catch up to him at his den in an abandoned Twolegplace.

"Stay away from me! Just please leave me," he hissed at them anxiously as he backed himself against a corner.

"M name is Barkpelt and my mate's name is Hollyleaf," Cocoa took a step forward. "We're not here to hurt you, we just have a question."

"What is it?" The cowering tom asked, as he looked up at his pursuers.

"We want to know if you would like to join us, and several other cats in creating a clan," Hollyleaf stated calmly and simply, but the tom just tilted his head in confusion. "A clan is a group of cats that sticks together no matter what. They will always stick together, through the most lush of Greenleafs to harshest leaf-bares, hunting for each other, fighting to protect each other no matter the cost. And when you are finally too old or injured to serve your clan, you will be allowed to rest as much as you want and will be treated with the utmost respect."

He looked up, a hopeful gleam in his eyes. "That sounds great, but," he looked back down. "I'm not very good at fighting or hunting and I'm always told I'm a freak because I don't have any fur."

Hollyleaf nodded. "I will make sure no one ever taunts you for your lack of fur," she paused noticing that the tom really wasn't good at hunting because he was quite skinny; it was probably a miracle that he had survived leaf-bare. "If you don't think you could hunt or fight, then maybe you could be our medicine cat." She offered.

"Er, what is a medicine cat?" The furless cat tilted his head once again, not knowing what a medicine cat was.

"A medicine cat heals the other cats that are fighting or get injured in some other way using plants and other things depending on the situation as well as interpreting dreams from Starclan. I don't remember very much from when I was a medicine cat apprentice, but I know enough to teach you to take care of some basic injuries. We'll figure out a way to teach you everything else somehow." Hollyleaf hoped she was explaining his role well enough.

"I guess that sounds good," he stepped forward as he spoke. "My name is Creep." Being a medicine cat sounded pretty easy. He wasn't really sure what Hollyleaf had meant when she was talking about this "Starclan", but figured it would be explained later on.

* * *

AN: Sorry, it ended in such a weird spot, but I wanted to get this out now because finishing it as one chapter would have taken much too long.

Review, favorite, sub, etc. It's all very appreciated.


	11. Chapter 7: Part 2

**Chapter 7 Part 2**

By the end of the moon, they were forced to find a place to settle. Hollyleaf and Barkpelt decided to move to the outer city, where it would be safer, and until they could decide on a permanent location that would be a fair distance from the city. The other cats that had already joined the clan also moved towards the outer part of the city. They would come almost daily to learn things from Barkpelt, who had learned them earlier from Hollyleaf, when she was still able to move freely. They would also go and try to recruit more cats, but were rarely successful. A white tom with a black tail and two others joined soon after they moved, but it was a while before anyone else joined.

Hollyleaf kitted in early Greenleaf, giving birth to Rainkit, Clawkit, and Featherkit. Rainkit was the first and was a gray she-cat with darker grey spots. Clawkit was and orange tabby tom with green eyes who reminded Hollyleaf of her grandfather, but tried not to think about it when she saw the kit. Finally, Featherkit was a small gray-and-white she-cat, the smallest of the litter. She stared at the small and soft bundles sleeping at her belly before giving each of them a lick on the head and falling asleep.

Barkpelt had been there during the entire ordeal, whispering words of comfort until she had been able to relax. He decided he would go out to bring her something for when she woke up so she could keep her strength up as well as try and find a plant she called "borage" to help her milk come. However, while he was out he ran into a black she-cat that called herself Morgan. She was reluctant like to join like a couple of the other cats, but agreed in the end. Afterwards, she helped him catch a mouse to take back to Hollyleaf.

It was about two more moons before it had been decided where they would go. In a moon, they would move into the tunnels, just outside of clan territory. A month later, they had recruited two more cats off of the streets: a fluffy white she-cat and a gray she-cat with black spots. Hollyleaf and Barkpelt agreed that this would be enough cats to start with and that her's and Abby's kits were strong enough to make the journey there.

The moon passed quickly and uneventfully. Not all of the cats had been as quick of learners as Barkpelt had been, but Hollyleaf determined that they had definite warrior potential. Greenleaf was starting to fade away and give into the oncoming leaf-fall.

The trip to the tunnels had gone for the most part without a hitch, until on the second night one of Hollyleaf's kits had wandered off. Featherkit was nowhere to be seen when the group woke up. The entire group searched frantically for almost the entire day before Dom found her hiding inside of a hollowed-out tree, sleeping. Hollyleaf had smothered her kit with licks while at the same time scolding her for running off, embarrassing her.

They made it to their destination after two more days of travelling. Several of the cats were concerned with how narrow and short the tunnels were at first, but their leader assured them that they got bigger they further they went in. After figuring out where exactly the dens were going to be, Hollyleaf had to get down to serious business. The first thing she would be doing would be to explain the warrior code.

Most of the cats seemed unsure about this, Hollyleaf and Barkpelt did everything they could to calm down the cats that didn't like the idea of having to completely change their lives. One walked out as she was speaking and another left almost immediately after she had finished. She told them it was the only way for them to stay together as a strong, cohesive unit.

"You will all be receiving your clan names tomorrow," she announced at the end of the clan meeting. "We will once again meet here. I have faith that we will soon be just as strong as or stronger than the clans above us surrounding the lake. Good night, clan." She watched as the cats slowly walked out of the meeting hollow. All of their meowing sounded so uncertain and anxious, that Hollyleaf wasn't even sure this clan would survive more than a moon into Leaf-bare.

When the last cat had walked out, Hollyleaf slumped down and sighed. Barkpelt was there to put his tail on her shoulder, "What's wrong, Hollyleaf?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. I'm not sure if I am going to be able to do this," she tilted her head to look up at him. "I'm not very strong-willed, I don't know if I will be able to command the respect of my clanmates, and I don't know if Starclan is agreeing with this." She buried her face into her mate's brown chest fur.

Barkpelt licked her head before speaking, "It will all be okay, just give it some time, okay?" Hollyleaf nodded into him. "Now let's get some sleep, you will feel much better in the morning." The two of them lied down, Barkpelt did his best to curl around her and comfort her.

When they woke up in the morning, Hollyleaf and Cocoa asked Dom and Larry to join them in hunting. They were moderately successful, catching five pieces of prey between them. Four of them were mice, while two of them were squirrels, both of which were caught by Dom, who's speed greatly surpassed anyone else's in the clan and could easily challenge a Windclan cat, which was the main reason he was able to catch his prey since his stances weren't as good as a full warrior's yet.

There was enough fresh-kill to feed the entire clan that morning and once everyone had finished eating, Hollyleaf called together the clan with a yowl that was just loud enough to halt the quiet conversations going on. "Today marks the real start of this clan," she began. Hollyleaf looked around and noticed one was missing. "Wait, where is Jack?"

"He left this morning not long after you went hunting," responded Snow. "He told me that he didn't think that this would work out."

"Well then, I thank everyone who has decided to stay," mewed Hollyleaf disappointed. "I promise you this will work. We are strong together." She paused. "Moving on, today is the day you all receive your clan names. First is Dom. Come up here." She would be doing things a little bit differently. As the tom was walking to her she spoke, "When a cat receives their warrior name, it is custom to chant that new name." She turned to Dom. "Dom, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

The dark-gray tom nodded his head. "I do."

Hollyleaf was so nervous saying these words. She could only hope Starclan was going to hear and except what she had to say. "Then with the grace of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. Dom, from this moment on you will be known as Runningspirit. Starclan honors you for making this decision, and welcomes you as a full warrior of…" she hesitated. Hollyleaf had never really thought about what she would call the clan, so she said the first thing that came to mind: "Earthclan." She rested her muzzle on the tom's head, surprising. "Lick my shoulder, then sit with the rest of the clan." The tom did just what she said.

The rest of the clan cheered his new name, some of them unsure and others very excitedly, "Runningspirit! Runningspirit! Runningspirit!"

_Earthclan! _It actually made sense and she was surprised that she hadn't said something completely idiotic. "Abby, you are next. Bring your kits with you," the ginger she-cat and her two kits padded up to their leader. The two kits were shaking like leaves. "Abby, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Abby swallowed and nervously answered, "I do."

"Then with the grace of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. Abby, from this moment on you will be known as Gingerpelt. Starclan honors you for your motherliness, and welcomes you as a full warrior of Earthclan." Hollyleaf placed her jaw on Gingerpelt's skull who in-turn licked it. "Now, have you decided on clan names for your kits, Gingerpelt?"

"Yes, Hollyleaf. With help from Dom, er, Runningspirit we know what to name our children." Gingerpelt mewed nervously. It would probably take a bit for the cats to get used to each other's new names. "She will be named, Flutterkit," indicating a light orange she-cat, then pointed her tail at her other kit, a gray tom, "And he will be named Soaringkit."

Hollyleaf nodded then returned her attention to the rest of the clan. "From now on Gingerpelt's and Runningspirit's kits shall be named Flutterkit and Soaringkit." She had the two sit down before continuing the ceremony.

It had been a while before they finished, but when they were done, Hollyleaf was more confident than ever. This confidence grew from there on and she began to realize that Starclan had kept her alive for a reason. That reason must've been to create this clan and lead them into a new age where the Warrior Code would once again guide the clans to strength and prosperity.

When the rains started to come, Hollyleaf remembered that there was a problem: the tunnels could flood. She had thought that they were far enough back from the lake that it wouldn't affect them, but was wrong based on how close the water had come to the medicine den and what would eventually be the elder's den. They decided the best thing to do would be to dig holes for the water to run and pool into when it rained enough. It took a while and many had lost some of their claws doing it, but in the end, they were safe from drowning.

Soon after the start of the apprenticeship of both her kits and Gingerpelt's, Hollyleaf decided to get the clan together and tell them of what she now knew. She gathered all of them into the meeting hollow at night and told them about what had happened before in her old clan life: how she had broken the Warrior Code by holding secrets from the clan. The fact that she had killed another cat had been nearly erased from her mind from denying it and blocking it out. She continued by convincing that only they could save the clans now and that they must do whatever it takes.

The clan had become extremely loyal to her in the short time they had known her and they cheered her when she finished speaking. Their leader told them that soon they would start planning what to do, and in a few moons, Earthclan would rise to the surface and show the clans that what they had been doing was wrong, and should've been following the warrior code all along. Hollyleaf was somewhat surprised and thankful when they didn't question what she had lain out and was very proud of what they had accomplished so far.

Hollyleaf initiated her plan almost immediately after but without telling her clan. She began by stealing prey from the borders of Windclan and Thunderclan when the flows of the river in the tunnel allowed it. The first result of it was a few border clashes. The following gathering, the clans decided to not meet for gatherings anymore. Realizing the tensions between the clans would continue to grow even if she didn't do anything, Hollyleaf decided that she would wait to do anything else until the apprentices become warriors and all of the other cats had become fully-trained.

(A Few Months Later: Present)

She had gathered all together again just a few days prior and told them of her plan. In the end, after a little bit of debate, Earthclan agreed that Hollyleaf's plan to steal prey and turn the clans against each other was the best plan.

A blue-gray tom, Larry when he had joined the clan, but now known as Splashbelly, stepped into the den of Hollyleaf and Barkpelt and bowed his head before speaking. "It appears Thunderclan is preparing to attack Windclan soon, possibly within the next few nights."

"Excellent, thank you for reporting to me Splashbelly," Hollyleaf mewed pleasantly. However, she noticed that Splashbelly was nervously shuffling his paws. "What is it, what's wrong?"

"Well…I also heard that Firestar has died." Splashbelly said quickly and quietly, scared to say it, knowing his leader's relationship with Thunderclan's now former leader.

Barkpelt looked at his mate for a moment before looking back at Splashbelly. "You may leave." The messenger left quickly, ducking his head as he left. Hollyleaf buried her face into her mate's fur in her grief.

* * *

AN: This chapter could've been much longer, but I wanted to get it out. Sorry the end isn't that great even after rewriting it.

All reviews are appreciated. Please tell me if I've made any mistakes.

**Earthclan**

**Leader**

Hollyleaf – Black she-cat with green eyes and a bushy tail

**Deputy**

Barkpelt – Large dark brown tom with amber eyes

**Medicine Cat**

Snakebody - Hairless gray-and-white tom with amber eyes

**Warriors**

Runningspirit – Extremely fast dark-gray tom

_Apprentice, Featherpaw_

Gingerpelt – She-cat with a ginger pelt

_Apprentice, Rainpaw_

Splashbelly – Blue-gray tom

_Apprentice, Soaringpaw_

Blacktail – White tom with black tail

_Apprentice, Flutterpaw_

Ravenflight – Jet-black she-cat

_Apprentice, Clawpaw_

Snowcloud – Fluffy white she-cat with blue eyes

Greyspots – Gray she-cat with black spots

**Apprentices**

Rainpaw – Gray she-cat with darker gray spots

Clawpaw – Orange tabby-tom with green eyes

Featherpaw – Small gray-and-white she-cat

Flutterpaw – Light orange she-cat

Soaringpaw – Gray tom

I'm not so great at naming cats. xD

Also, the end of the year is coming up for school which means its time for massive projects. D:


	12. Author's Note

Pretty much the worst possible thing for this fic happened. My hard-drive pretty much died. I lost everything in My Documents (Where I keep everything for my fanfics saved) and around half of my C: drive. I guess that's what happens when you're using an old computer.

I was around half way through the new chapter, which was going to be an exciting battle that featured both Stoneclaw's and Deadheart's POVs. I had up to the mid-teen chapters planned out, but I can't remember most of it at this point and don't really know where to go from here. I think I'm done writing this story, as I've lost next to all motivation because of this.

I'm terribly sorry to all of those who have been reading and enjoying Deadheart and I can't thank everyone who's read it, subscribed, and favorited.


End file.
